Coconuts Part III: The last of the Trilogy

How's that for a title? When I started this vacay post I figured it would be in 2 parts, but not 3. Oh well. You get to hear read more of me. Or you can just skip through the pictures. I don't blame you. Pinky swear.

Here's a picture of the resort. Can you believe this shot? On the last day, I may have crawled hallways looking for the best place for a good picture. I may have gone up a flight of stairs that lead no where. I may have found a window for roof access (when I say window, I mean a hole in the stucco wall since they don't use "windows" in Mexico. Too much glass and cleaning I suppose). And I may have hung my head out said "window" and noticed a sign that said "employees only". Why in the world would they put the best place for a picture in the only place I could crawl to for employees only? And just so you know, J. wouldn't come with me. He's not adventureous like that. I think he's afraid of getting in trouble. Brown noser. Just kidding. Kinda.

 I loved the resort. It was beautiful. I'd love to hire their landscapers to come to our house. I don't know much about yard work to make things pretty. I know how to rip up what I don't like and make a complete mess, but putting it back together is out of my element. Drats.

I was able to take up a new hobby while we were there. It was called Coati hunting. It was my idea. When we first arrived, bags in hand, I spotted one of these little guys.

They're called Coati's (pronounced coat-ee). After first glance, I was hooked. Was it a mongoose? A racoon? A monkey? Golly they're cute and most importantly, can I hold one?!? It was instant love. All week I stalked them. I caught the picture below coming back from the pool one afternoon. The people in the room above were feeding them Fritos. How adorable are they? John wouldn't let me get much closer. He was afraid I'd get some weird disease or my eyeballs scratched out. He's so protective, and again, non-adventurous. Looking back I wish I had smuggled one back home with me. At least I know I could fill my bag with Fritos and they'd be just happy as a clam. Besides, who can resist the smell of Fritos?

I'm sure once I batted my eyes at the Customs officer they'd let me bring him back. Right? Thought so.

Can't you just see our house with John, myself, the dog, the two cats and a kote? The cats would have a ball! I can practically hear the hissing now. Ha!

So there you have it. The highlights of our wonderful trip. I want to go back again. Maybe for a 5 yr anniversary? Yes? Done. See you in 3.5 years Mexico.

*P.S. I've gotten lots of questions about how safe we felt. In a lot of ways, we both felt like we'd never left the US. Everyone was polite, accomodating, helpful and fun. We saw no evidence of any turmoil. Several staff at the resort said the community of Cancun is very protected by the locals because they rely on tourists for their livelihood. And I'd be happy to return any day.*

coconuts part II

Now, where did we leave off? oh yes. Snorkeling. You can check out all the under water pictures in the previous post. These are the 'above deck' action.

We were on a huge 30 ft. catamerand with about 20 other excursionists. The sun was shining, the wind was blowing, it was an aamzing time. Perfect paradise.

 

  I thought it couldn't get much better, until we came upon this beach. I'm not gonna lie. I was so excited to see the beach that I forgot to get more pictures of it. Pepe (our tour guide) had a special name for this little island (again, I was so excited I don't remember the name of it DANG!) he's said it's the most beautiful beach in the world. I'm a believer, but since this was my first time to anything south of Miami.  If it weren't for John, I would have jumped off the boat, swam to shore and stayed there forever. At least until I realized I wasn't prepared with my 3 things to take to a deserted island. *dang it*. I should have been more prepared. My parents are Boyscout leaders for cryin' out loud. *Gah*  Slaps hand on forehead. I'm only kidding. Kinda. Sorta.

 You'd want to stay too. I promise.


Sigh.

Anywhoo. On the next day (Wednesday, if you're keeping count) we decided to do a little "culturalizing" of ourselves. We went to Tulum, aka Mayan Ruins. To be honest, we were a little disappointed. We both love history and were really looking forward to getting some great info, and sure there were tid-bits. But overall we were looking for a little more than a 10 minute intro and our guide pretty much dissing us and told us to meet back at the bus at 12:30. Ok. Now what? 

We're stuck looking at old rocks for 2 hours with barely any shade. Staring at these guys...

I can only imagine my skin looking like this after another hour. Awesome.

So we walked. And walked.

Did I mention you can't walk or climb on the rocks either? Total bummer. Something about them being "unstable" and "crumbling". Whatevs.

So we continued our walk. It was burning up. At 10:30am. Then we found this:

Oh sweet Jesus. How do I get  down there? I had a mumbling husband behind me, something about being thirsty and hot. We kept walking... and I found it. A way down.

Holy. Moly. This definately beats the beach I couldn't reach yesterday. It was undescribably gorgeous. Definately worth the walk. And the steep steps.

Lots of steep steps.

So that was what we spent our days away from the hotel doing. Tulum wasn't so great, but the beach was. And I will say it was pretty cool swimming in the ocean looking up at mayan ruins. Probably the only time in my life I'll be able to do that.  I'll follow this post with the last of the coconut story.


And I left a video for you to view of  "the spinnaker". I'd always heard of Spinnaker's but had never seen one until this trip. It's pretty much a sling that goes under your butt and swings you through the air. A lot like parasailing, but there's nothing holding you in, and you can break your arms. Which is why we were too scared to do it. But others did... Enjoy!



coconuts anyone?

As I promised, I'll share with you what John and I have been up to for the past week. We went on our honeymoon. Yes, it's very belated. But just as wonderful. After our wedding in October of '09 we did take a week off work. But we had a stay-cation. We wrapped up the wedding and spent an entire week at home. It was wonderful, relaxing and much-needed. We'd always planned on taking our honeymoon, but it took us a while to get it planned and the vacation time accrued. So at last, it happened.

And because it was such a fantastic week, I'm going to break up the week into a couple of posts for you so you won't get bored of my ranting all at one time.

Last Sunday morning (at a very cold 20 something degrees) we left and headed to Cancun, Mexico and had a wonderful time. It stayed around 80 degrees and sunny all week. Tropical paradise. I highly recommend going if you are looking for a little getaway.

We had views from our room like this:

and this

The first day I laid under here. And sang/ hummed all afternoon.

I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts...

There they are all standing in a row...

now I have you singing it don't I?

Don't lie. I know you know the words.

Anywhoo, that's all we did on the first day. I don't think there was a moment I didn't have a drink in my hand. Pina Colada's. My very favorite.

The second day we got more adventureous and headed out for a day of snorkeling. It was our first time. And between the times of spitting, sputtering, inhaling the sea water, and nearly choking ourselves, we caught some pretty cool sights.

 Hello Fishy! Reminds me of Dorris from Finding Nemo. Just keep swimming.. just keep swimming.

See the turtle? So cool.

Stay tuned for more pictures and adventures in the next post..

Eye Candy and Blog Love

Hey everyone!


I hope you're getting some of this beautiful weather this week. It's hanging around in the 60's in NC so Spring is on the way! Wahoooo! I think I can say with fair certainty that we're all ready for some warmer weather.
John and I are busy busy this week doing something we've never done before. I can't reveal what it is yet (I know, I know, I'm such a tease) but I can't wait to tell you all about it soon.


In the meantime, I'm going to leave you with some eye candy from posts around bloggy-land that have caught my eye. Enjoy! *click on the links to view the full post*

See what Melissa over at  320 Sycamore did with $5 and a little genious-ness. It's amazing what a little digging around at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, Goodwill, or yard sales can can bring to you.  

 Don't you just love it?!? I've been thinking about this project all week. I'd love to find a light with great lines and turn it into something that would normally cost a small fortune.


Next, is this project from Brittany over at Pretty Handy Girl. She made this little reading nook/ hang out for her little one and I'm just speechless. I'm completely in love. Did I mention it was once a closet? Simply awesome!

How about this for an amazing house project? Joan at For the Love of A House is transforming a beautiful farmhouse in New Hampshire. She moved there with her husband from Texas and has the most amazing transformations. Her kitchen simply blows me away.

And last (but not least) Centsational Girl, Kate. She is the queen of furniture revamps, crafting and design. Her amazing trellis-stenciled wall is just impressive. I would love to do a feature wall just like this one day. You can learn all about how she did it by clicking the link.

I have such a privelege of watching these (and so many other) women craft, re-create and inspire. Blogging is such an amazing part of my life, and I don't ever want to stop. I've made wonderful friends and learned so much from each one of the blogs I read daily. I hope by sharing these projects, you'll too, see how much talent there is out there to inspire you.

Have a wonderful week everyone. I'll leave you to peruse the links above.
Oh, and Happy Valentines Day!

We're Official

If you haven't already noticed, this here blog has a new address. It was about time I got rid of the extra long URL you all are so used to. You know the one: elizabeth-southerncomfort.. blah blah blah. It felt like it went on forever sometimes!

I chose that link because at the time I started the blog baby I didn't know how big or even if people would read what I had to say. So I chose what Blogger had available. It was free, so it worked and I can't complain about free. It fit the price.

Well, here we are nearly 2 years old (2 YEARS !?!)! Does time fly or what? And I figured it was time to give Southern Comfort some extra bloggy love. Yes, that's right. Bloggy love. As of last week (when I got the email everything is confirmed) We are now 100% free of the old URL. The new one is as follows:

www.southerncomfortlife.com

With the help of John, we narrowed down some ideas and paid for our own domain. We tried southerncomfort.com, but that address was already taken for a well known adult beverage company. So we had to get creative. The blog is now getting enough attention (thank you!) and growing fast enough we felt comfortable throwing a few buckeroos at it to keep it going. And to make things simpler for you.

Now, for the non-computer savvy readers out there (hey Mom!) No worries, you can still keep going to the old site and it will redirect you. But you may want to consider adding the new one to your favorites list. :)

We've been busy bee's this weekend! Stay tuned for *gasp* pictures of our (never before seen) upstairs! Before, during and after pictures coming soon... eek, we're excited!