tampa.

I think a trip home is the perfect reset button. Put down the phone and roll down a window instead. Sure it's hot, but the sun is on your face. Long walks and long drives. Grilling out and a trip to the beach. Homemade granola, cookie baking and an ambitious attempt at a rhubarb coffee cake (which wasn't half bad). Perfect way to spend the long Memorial Day weekend - feeling relaxed and thankful in my home town.

My hippie-chic sister in the Publix parking lot. This van was in great condition. And I went back to Publix 3 times after this. 

Poolside drinks before noon and a weird burn on my arm. That's what I get for using spray-on sunscreen under UV-index of 10.

Caught my eye in Anthropologie... Spot on.

Don't know why my mind automatically went to that scene in A Christmas Story (around the 1:17 mark) when Euphemia Haye brought out my leftovers in this aluminum structure. There was no way I could finish a whole duck, so I guess I should have expected this. I carried it around like a pet the rest of the evening and Dad was amused.

Some of the spread on Sunday night - the menu: grilled lobster tails, strawberry goat cheese quinoa salad w/ almonds and mint, grilled corn and fresh watermelon. Nellie doesn't like quinoa.

And no trip to Tampa (or anywhere south of the city) is complete without a drive by Chick-Fil-A. Dollar Ice Dreams: the perfect welcome home.

risen.

When I mentally prepare for a weekend at home, I can start to feel my body begin to relax. I read on Joanna’s blog that for some people – the planning stage before a vacation is the most relaxing part. I wouldn’t go that far, but I can definitely sense a happier mood in me the week before taking off to 78 and sunny. 

I shopped for Easter candy, went to yoga, arranged sparkly eggs, played with the dog, lunched with an old friend, got a trim, prepared an awesome Sunday brunch with my sister and celebrated one of my favorite holidays at home in Florida. 

Strolling in Hyde Park post-yoga

Cinnamon Toast-French Toast via Smitten Kitchen for Easter brunch = huge success.

Peeps attack Nellie.

Lobster tails for dinner on Sunday.

warm in the winter.

I've been holding off sharing pictures from my trip to the beach last February. A combination of long to-do lists and bittersweet nostalgia, I guess. Tough coming back to winter after a warm weekend away with family I miss dearly. We did have to come back, however, and looking back at these pictures makes me miss it all over again. Glancing at myself in the mirror tonight, I am reminded of what some sun and a quick breather from the city hustle will do to your complexion.

When going back to Florida, I'll most likely be going to one of two places: the west coast where I grew up, or the east coast where I spent summer vacations, spring breaks, and long weekends as a kid. The east coast of Florida is known for better beaches and bigger waves. My extended family has had a house on the beach over there for many years, and it's where so many memories are tied to. Black top roads, hot sand, the salty Atlantic Ocean. My grandmother's lemonade, fresh seafood, the farmers market on Ocean Drive. Falling asleep to the soft sounds of waves, the creaks from the rickety ceiling fan, and wind chimes in the back yard.

No matter how much older I get, I vividly remember my childhood at the beach house. No real worries in the world except a high tide and sunburnt shoulders.

Breakfast at Nora's table. 

Oceanside Farmers Market

There's a good looking guy.

Hanging Big Lowell's new air plant and teaching him how to use an iPhone