The best Tweet I've ever gotten

Things I'll miss when the season changes

I'll miss sitting on my bench watching the surfers as I wake up with the sunshine.
And a big mug of coffee.
I've found that mornings on the beach are the best.
Between 7 and 9, a whole different crowd is out.
The runners, joggers, bikers, dog walkers, surfers, and people like me who are stuck working 9-5.
It's quiet and peaceful and the sun is just amazing and the perfect way to start a work day.

Another reason I love where I live

Have I mentioned lately that I LOVE where I live?

My Holiday Playlist

What says 4th of July on the beach more than a playlist full of my country favorites?

Here's a little sample of what songs are going to be played over and over and over again the next three days!

Barefoot Blue Jean Night- Jake Owen

Country Girl (Shake It For Me)- Luke Bryan

Old Alabama- Brad Paisley ft Alabama

Honey Bee - Blake Shelton

Dirt Road Anthem – Jason Aldean

Live a Little - Kenny Chesney

Knee Deep- Zac Brown Band

Summer’s Little Angel- Steve Forde

Made In America Toby Keith

My Kinda Party- Jason Aldean

Chicken Fried- Zac Brown Band

Felt Good on My Lips- Tim McGraw

Don't Drink the Water- Brad Paisley (feat. Blake Shelton)

Hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th of July weekend!

Beach Etiquette at the Jersey Shore

The Jersey Shore is known for a lot of bad things.

Snooki. The Situation. Bamboo. Guidos. Urg.

I defend it on a daily basis. It's where I live. I love it.

Newest poke at the Jersey Shore? New Jerseyans have the second-worst beach etiquette. We're right behind New York, but since they come to our beaches, I think it's even worse.

Head on over to NJ.com to see my take on beach etiquette at the Jersey Shore.

Out of a Slump

Sometimes, all it takes is a mug of coffee on the beach,

an evening acting silly and catching up with friends,
and a 30% off coupon on shoes you've been lusting over to get you out of your funk.

Happy First Day of Summer

Ahh, after a looong winter, it's finally here.

I welcome and thrive upon, in no particular order:

• Bikinis
• Tan lines
• Beach days
  
• Concerts
• Flip flops
• Sun dresses
• Iced coffee
  
• Popsicles
  
• Water ice
• Watermelon
• Canonballs
• Bud Light Lime
• Landshark
• BBQs
• Fireworks
• Thunderstorms
• Baseball

And, with all these great things, I'll deal with:

• Humidity
• Mosquito bites
• Thunderstorms (yes, it goes under both)
  
• Bennies and shoobies
• New Yorkers
• Sunburn
  
• Beach badges

Happy National Flip Flop Day!

Anyone who knows me knows that one of my favorite things in the whole wide word are flip flops.

I love them and everything that they stand for. Summertime. Freedom. Relaxing.

I ache in the winter when my toes have to be covered. Sure, boots are stylish, but they're so suffocating. My toes being free is what it's all about. (Not to mention showing off my adorable bright pink nail polish.)

Being cheap, poor and a beach kid, I've never spent more than $30 on a pair of flip flips, but here are some cute ones out!

Reef, Brighton Orla, Vera Bradley, Diane Von Furstenberg, O’Neill, Lily Pulitzer, all available at http://www.zappos.com.

Forget purses. Flip flops are absolutely every outfit's best accessory.

My New Ride

To me, nothing says that I live at the beach more than my beach cruiser.

Once I'm at the beach, I'm there. My car is not moving-- especially when I'm at my mom's beach house and parked oh-so-sweetly in front of my neighbor's house- WIN! (Hell, that's what they get for parking in front of our place -- you bet it's on!)

Anyways, my present to myself for moving to the beach was my pretty little beach cruiser. Put together by hand and missing a few pieces, it's perfect.Sure, it's not the gorgeous green Kate Spade cruiser or the adorable Lilly printed bike, but hey, it gets my from point A to point B-- and I don't have to worry about parking (not to mention that I can burn a few more calories).

MDW

Being a Jersey girl, I've learned that after Easter there is only one thing in mind: MDW.

Ah yes, Memorial Day Weekend. The unofficial kickoff of summer, the beach going months, the infiltration of shoobies, bennies and other ridiculous tourists who take up my parking spot. The people who turn my commute from a 15 minute drive to closer to a half hour, more on Fridays. The people who are going to make me wait in line for my morning iced coffee.

I'm allowed to say this now. I'm a local.

But I have to wonder -- I've only lived in Jersey, and it seems like MDW is such a big deal. Driving "down the shore," hitting the bars and clubs, bar-b-queing, drinking lots of alcohol ... yea, it's a blast and I'm always looking for a reason to have a day off of work, but is MDW such a big deal other places?

(Google searches of this are telling me that "MDW is big in NJ and Vegas..)

Regardless of where you're spending it -- I'll be on the beach, obviously, I hope everyone has a sun-filled, maragarita and sangria-full Memorial Day Weekend!

Seven Days of Rain and No Motivation

Ever have one of those days where you just can't get yourself to do anything when you're at home? When you're out, it's all good. But the second you walk through that door, the motivation is left outside? For some reason, I just could not bring myself to open up my laptop after I left the office.

Well, that some reason could have been the long week of rainy weather. The rain came in Saturday afternoon and didn't leave until Friday. Gross. April showers brings May monsoons.

BUT I'll admit that it was worth it. Saturday was, finally, the beach day I have been waiting for since I moved to the beach in February. Sunny skies, cool air made warm by the sun and no breeze. My present for surviving the week:

Winning. Finally.

I got to enjoy my sweet new ride (details to follow) and plop my ass on the beach. Which I did from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. With SPF 8. I know, I know. Far from the smartest idea, but, hell, if they world was coming to an end at 6 p.m., you bet I was gonna get that last tan.

So yeah, I'm still here. A little sunburnt. No regrets, though, because it's cold and cloudy again. I guess I'd be greedy to ask for two nice days in a row.

I didn't know I was living in San Francisco

Weather forecasts with 80 degrees and sunshine are the days that I live for. Sunday was perfect: warm, sunny, not too humid. The forecast for most of the week showed more of the same.

Inland, that is.

The weather at the beach was much, much different. I work less than 15 minutes from my apartment, which is a few blocks from the beach. Each day this week, I've gotten in early so I could spend some time outside enjoying the sunshine before it got dark.

Fail. Big, big fail.

Warm, sunny mornings have given way to cold, foggy afternoons.

Oh the little things..

My weekend can be condensed to two oh-so-exciting events:

1. I finally found my first sand dollar!

2. I completed 13 miles on Sunday morning. Yes, that is not a typo. 13 miles, as in just about a half-marathon, in three hours. Take that, lazy fat-ass days.

Home is where the beach is

Ok, ok. I know I've been MIA. But I have a very, very good reason.
I've been busy changing this:



into something that's actually livable.

So here's my first place:

It's really starting to feel like home now. It's not done yet, but anyone who knows me knows that I'll have it almost how I want it when I'm getting ready to move out.

I'm looking forward to my kitchen table arriving, though. Working from a couch is starting to get a little too comfortable.

Growing Up

Okay, I know. I've been blowing it lately at blogging. But, I think I have a very good reason.

In this past week, I have found an apartment I can afford, visited the apartment- and signed a lease!

And since said apartment is an hour and a half away from home, I've been all over the place and spending some more time bonding with my car.

Now that I've found my little apartment by the beach, the fun part is coming up: decorating!!!

But, one very important question: I've had the same bed since I got out of the crib. How do you buy a bed?

(Once it warms up I can run/jog/walk by this everyday!!!)

I guess I have to admit it ...

I have the best boyfriend ever.

He surprised me with something that I've been drooling over and dreaming about for awhile now, a Canon EOS Rebel.

As a proud new owner, I bundled up and took to the snow and ice covered streets of the Jersey Shore.

I think it was worth it.

Photos from my Flickr

Today I Learned ...

... that not leaving the beach until the sun is gone feels wonderful.

Growing Up

For the first time in four years I won't be moving back into college.

Weird.

I loved college.  I loved my friends, my sorority sisters, (most of) my roommates.  I met my boyfriend.  I fell in love.  I was president of a sorority.  I really learned who I was and let myself become someone.  I was quiet in high school and scared to show everyone who I really was.  I didn't talk much in class and kept myself to my small, pre-selected group of friends.

In college, I quickly saw that I could be the person that I wanted to be.  I could disagree with another student- or the professor- in front of the class.  I could quickly say I didn't do all the reading.  I could lead a group of girls to be the biggest (and best, obviously) sorority on campus.  It was a great time for me to grow up.

And now I'm back at home.  Stuck back in the rut of being the person I had to be for 18 years.

Oh well.  While everyone is moving in this Labor Day, I'm still sitting on the beach.

I win.