Glampin'

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! My holiday went as well as possible and now I'm in recovery mode. Today starts my meal prep and workouts commencing once again. I've got about 50lbs to lose!

Our anniversary is in November, not only did I buy AJ Key West Express tickets ( the paper anniversary) but we bought each other a camper! I guess the title counts as paper, right?

Now we can travel anywhere we want, even off the grid!

This baby is equipped with air conditioning, a propane stove, microwave, fridge, and two queen-sized beds. The table top also turns into another bed so we can sleep a total of 6 people in our little home away from home. 

So far we've outfitted the whole thing from hand-me-downs from family and from the Dollar Store. Who knew it would be so essential to our camping lives?! 

We've only stayed at my parents' house and in Key West so far but we have plans to take the west coast of Florida all the way to New Orleans soon. I also want to camp at the southern end of the Appalachian Trail and hike as far as we can. We've done the northern end of the AT trail, through Mount Khatadin! 

Any other places you recommend we camp??

NYC Girls Weekend

Every year one of my girlfriends and I take a trip. Most years it's been to New York City. There's just something about the city that calls my name every once in a while. Each trip we make a stop at our favorite places and try a few new ones. 

Our first stop right off the train from Newark was Culture Espresso. They have THE BEST chocolate chip cookies. The center is so gooey and melty and they go perfectly with Instagram stories and coffee. How perfect does this look? 

After the coffee shop, we headed to our hotel to check our luggage since it was only 10 am. On the way there we saw some magnificent street art. Once we got to the hotel we hung out, charged our phones in their lounge and played a few rounds of War with the cards we had bought in the airport. 

Day one was all about Brooklyn. We visited a brewery, Other Half Brewing, and Whiskey Brooklyn. 

After a shot of Lawless whiskey, we headed to the Whyte Hotel rooftop bar, The Ides, for a beautiful view of Manhattan lighting up at night. A glass of Rose made for a wonderful cheers moment to the city that never sleeps. 

 Day one ended at TORST. All the beer was served in winter wine glasses! We played a few rounds of Rummy and then headed back to our hotel. We' been up since 3:30 am and we were exhausted. 

Day 2: We hit Manhattan on day 2. We began at Clinton Hall where I was super psyched for their Grilled Cheese donut over tomato soup.. it was the whole reason we traveled 45 minutes to get there. AND THEY WERE OUT OF IT! I was so upset. We had a beer and headed out to a recommendation from a server: The Ginger Man. TGM had delicious beer and chips. From there we caught a Lyft to Central Park. 

My friend wanted to see the Mandarin Duck that has made Central Park its new home.  As soon as the Lyft driver let us out of the car though, we needed a restroom and ended up (kind of) crashing a fancy wedding in a nearby hotel for its bathroom. Whoops. We did make it during the daylight to see the duck though. It was right in front of us for a picture and then it swam away with its brethren to the other side of the pond. 

After walking half of CP, we tried to hail another Lyft and failed. The driver couldn't find us and I was charged a cancellation fee even though the driver canceled the trip on us. Thankfully Lyft's customer service refunded my money. 

We finally walked into our destination a half hour later, after a cab ride. If you're ever in NYC, go to Jacob's Pickles! It was the best meal of the trip and I'd absolutely go back there every time I'm in town. 

We saved the best bar for last, Whiskey Tavern. We came, we drank, we closed the bar. 

 Let's just say the next day was rough. Whiskey - 1, girls - 0. 

Where are your favorite stops in NYC?

Christmas Coffee Date

Merry Christmas Eve Eve! If we were to meet for coffee this day we would talk about:

Our weekend. How did your weekend go? Friday started Winter Break from school! As soon as I got home, I took a 5-hour nap and then started watching more of Vikings ( I'm obsessed). Do you watch it? Next, I'd mention that Saturday was my annual Christmas Cookie Day with my Mom, Grandma, and family friend Ronnie.  We spend all day baking as many Christmas cookies as we can! Peanut butter cookies, no-bake cookies, chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies, and iced sugar cookies are all on the menu. 

Our holiday traditions: Other than the Christmas Cookie Day, my family celebrates the most on Christmas Eve. We all get together at my parents' house to eat, drink and share in the merriment of the season. My job is to drink the wine.  What are your holiday traditions?

New Year's Eve: Do you stay in or go out? AJ and I are homebodies, partly because my dog goes nuts over fireworks and partly because it's too dangerous to be out among the drivers. Plus, there are people out there... so many people. I'd rather stay inside with my PJ's and a glass of champagne than get dressed up and hone my small talk skills. 

I might also mention that I've been on an Audible kick and keep listening to Janet Evanovich books. I'd probably tell you about my trip to NYC, and places I'd love to travel to after my next trip in January. Any guesses where AJ and I are going? 

What else should we talk about?

An Airing of Grievances

To be honest I'm a Friends girl. Seinfeld was never my jam BUT the airing of grievances episode is a classic. 

Let's get on with it, shall we? The following things have disappointed me this year:

Drivers who won't let you merge onto the highway, going 75 mph.

The latest seasons of the Great British baking show. Where's Mary Berry?

Amazon packaging something tiny within a box, within a box. 

The government.

Whoever invented Instagrams algorithm. 

Staff meetings that could have been an email.

Bloggers who promise 'affordable' outfits and each piece is $100+.

Loop giveaways. 

What grievances do you have this year?

Weekending [ First of December ]

Happy Monday! For the first time in a while, I had a free weekend! What does a free weekend look like? Well, there were a lot of naps, yes plural, naps on Saturday. I couldn't believe that I never changed out of my pajamas. It was glorious. 

Sunday was a different fat kid day. The morning started bright and early at 6:30, because who can sleep in anymore? Not me. 

I had a big announcement on my Facebook and IG. Did anyone catch it?

Once Aj got up we ran to Home Depot and bought Christmas lights. Then, we FINALLY made it to the cutest little show ever called Peace, Love & Little Donuts. 

Yes, we ate all of them. 

After hanging the lights at home, we ended up at Naples Beach Brewery for a couple beverages. 

I loved the new one they have called Gingerbeard. Yes, beard. 

The night ended with steaks and wine outside by the fire.