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Back from the beach, and ready for a productive weekend!
I’m still in the middle of going through all of my pictures (and catching up on a backlogged inbox), so for now, I’ll just share a small handful of highlights from my trip to Hilton Head Island, SC. If you follow along on Instagram, you’ve seen a few of these already. I had such a wonderful time! Looking forward to sharing more about it next week!
- I’ve shared this before, and I can’t help myself. I love singing in the car. Loudly. And this was a five-hour trip of my favorite beach-inspired tunes to get me in the island mood.
- My hotel was in an amazing location. I’ve never had such a short walk to the pool and beach. Although it threatened to rain all over the forecast, I saw clear, sunny skies for the majority of my stay. And best of all, there was a nice, cool breeze that made soaking up the sun all the more enjoyable.
- When I hit the beach, it’s rum and pineapple all. the. way.
- Coconut ice cream is my new favorite flavor. It even tastes amazing with my old favorite, chocolate chip cookie dough. YUM!
- I hardly ever put product in my hair when I go on vacation. I slather it in a protective heat oil and let it do its thing. I absolutely love that breezy, carefree beach hair thing when the saltwater works its magic. I don’t, however, love the angle of the photo I snapped – my schnoz looks strangely huge.
- Did you know that Hilton Head (HHI) is dog-friendly? I didn’t. I missed Charlie like crazy when I saw this pooch (lower left) having a ball and biting the ocean waves.
- There was a large shopping plaza within walking distance of my hotel, with tons of restaurants and little shops. I hit the jackpot in this mineral store and can’t wait to share the two projects I’m creating with my finds.
- TIKI BAR. ‘Nuff said.
Finally, there is a local radio station (you Atlanta folks know The Bert Show) that is running a campaign that I think is pretty neat. As most women know (and probably you fellas, too), women dread bathing suit season. No matter your size, shape, or age, body image issues affect nearly everyone at some point. I’m no stranger to this self-consciousness, and strapping on a few thin pieces of Lycra doesn’t exactly make me want to turn on the catwalk.
Don’t get me wrong; I actually LOVE my curves, and feel blessed that I have a body that lets me leap through fire. But if you asked for a laundry list of my flaws, I could do it in a heartbeat. I hate the shape of my arms. I constantly analyze angles of my face in photographs and rarely post pictures of myself online unless I’ve put on a comfortable amount of makeup to hide behind (or sunglasses). I even criticized myself earlier in this post. So even though I rarely (um, never) post about things like this, I decided to go for it and joined the #suityourself campaign with this picture.
In the last year, I’ve braved things I wasn’t sure I could do, and feel stronger and more comfortable in my own skin than I ever have before. So even though I still think there’s plenty of room for improvement, the point of this campaign is to simply embrace your body the way it is. Right now. The way to a bikini body is to put your body in a bikini. That’s all it takes. Want to see more photos and offer words of encouragement? Check out the others on Instagram here.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Glad you had fun, you deserved a vacation!
And you look foxy in your bikini :)
Love your pictures from Hilton Head! We’ve never been, but we’re heading there in 2 weeks with my family and I can’t wait.
I love that you posted your picture for the #suityourself movement! I live in Indy, but we get the Bert Show which I love. Seeing all the pictures has been so encouraging. By the way…You look great!
Tiki Bar? Walking distance to shopping and restaurants? Sounds like the Beach House Holiday Inn? We stayed there last year and had an amazing time!
Oh! And the text trailing off screen doesn’t seem to be happening to me today, so if you fixed something, it worked!
Yep, Beach House! Great stay. Only issue was that they were remodeling a little, so it was a little noisy. I guess I bring the remodel with me wherever I go!
And thanks for the update. On smaller browsers, there is a “responsive” part of my theme, and all of it was set to maximum width, which seems to have been the major issue. Still working on a few more tweaks to improve mobile experience, but I’m glad to hear it’s working better!
you look like a total hottie tottie! Good for you for posting a bathing suit pic of yourself! We all have different shapes and it is sooooo important to embrace our beauty! Love ya girl! PS- you have a beautiful face and stunning eyes… so take LOTS of pictures and share it! :)
It looks like you had a nice, relaxing time. And you look fantastic, btw! Just a quick question: did you go on vacation by yourself or did you meet with family/friends? I’m a single lady and would love to have the balls to go on vacation by myself instead of waiting around for my friends to arrange their schedules with husbands/kids.
By myself, and I had a great time. Post next week for more details (thanks for the post idea, too!).
The Bert Show is also now playing here in the DC area and I heard about this “challenge” the other morning. I’m still working up the courage to post a picture, but seeing as how you and all those other beautiful women have already done it, it may just push me over the edge.
Looks like you had a fun time in Hilton Head. I always remember our family vacation there with such fondness. I’ll have to make it back one day!
Is Kristin still on the Bert Show? She left a station here in Raleigh to go there a few years ago. I miss her.
I’m ready for a vacay.
Yep, I think she’s the one who came up with the idea, actually!
Kristin Klingshirn? Yup she is, and she’s still with Bart!
I really like your photographic eye and sense of composition, the collage of shots at the top of the post is great! Glad you had a good time at the beach, I’m sure it was much needed.
-pl-
AHHHH! A renovation blog about an 80’s house. I JUST BOUGHT AN 80’s HOUSE! Well, it’s colonial style but filthy with ugly wallpaper and brown tile. So glad to find your blog!!!!
Welcome to all that it 1980s builder style ugly! And congrats on the new house!
Certainly from a guy perspective you have nothing to worry about being in a bathing suit. And if that photo with the blue earring is you, you should wear your hair like that more often.
Thinking you have flaws isn’t a bad thing unless you obsess about them. It helps to keep people’s egos in check.
You go girl! I think it’s a rarity to find a girl these days that doesn’t have said laundry list. Mine is a mile long for sure and it seems the older I get the more insecure I feel. It’s nice to read some empowerment and second guess all that self judging that goes on. Thanks :)