Weekly Faves

It's Friday and it's the last one of July--seriously where is the Summer going? It's been a bit since I've posted some of my favorites so here we go!

{1} Massage and Haircut

I got my hair cut and a color touch up yesterday. I loooooove my hairstylist and she  even did my color for free which was an awesome surprise! She made me look awesome ;)

ok, even without the filter, it's still a good cut :)

I had a massage scheduled for last Friday but my masseuse got sick and cancelled so it's been rescheduled for this afternoon which I'm over the moon excited about!

{2} Recent Read

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Thanks to Christy, I got The Light Between Oceans to read. I wanted to dive into it as soon as I finished my previous book. It was a bit slow to get into but once the story picked up I was engrossed in it, even having dreams about it at night. Needless to say, I finished it in 3 days! Definitely recommend it! (Also, it's coming out in a movie soon so check out the book before then!)

{3} New Show Addiction

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Since I've been home, and am doing my best not to spend a ton of money, I've been catching up on some tv, and discovered the show Famously Single which features some celebs I was familiar with (Paulie D, Brandy, Josh Murray from Bachelorette and Aubrey O'Day). I thought it was going to be trashy, but it actually wasn't. I found it interesting to watch and ended up not hating Brandy like I did on RHOBH. It ends next week, but you can still catch the episodes On Demand.

{4} IVF and the love and support of you all

Yep, IVF is a favorite this week. There's a sentence I never thought I'd say, but dammit, I've reached a point where I'm excited, anxious (and a little nervous) to get this IVF started. My shots start next week and I'm ready to get this show on the road. After trying to so long, we're more than ready for a baby to enter our lives and it feels like it's within reach. I'm so appreciative of all of your love and support--the comments, the private messages, the snaps...all of the support has done a ton to get me pumped and ready to get this part of our journey under way. So, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Putting my story out here is scary sometimes since I know there are people out there who are naysayers and negative nancy's, and use other people's stories as fodder for their own conversations, but the positive things that come out of the amazing people out there FAR outweigh the negative.  I'm not sure I would be where I am mentally or emotionally had it not been for the support from this community and I'll be forever grateful for you all.

{5} Some Funnies, after that serious note...

How I (and my friends) reacted seeing my IVF meds unpacked on the kitchen table

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When MG comes home from work and I'm in the same spot on the couch I was when he left for work

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How you feel when the last day of vacation arrives

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How this presidential campaign from now till November feels

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How working out feels the first day back from vacation

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I hope your Friday and weekend are fun-filled, and not hot as balls out!

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Thursday Thoughts

I thought I'd take a break from vacation recaps since there's really only two more stops left (one post) and I haven't gotten those photos organized yet from MG's phone and our camera.

So today is a bunch of random thoughts and confessions for ya!

~My IVF meds arrived yesterday early afternoon....in two boxes. They filled up our kitchen table when I unpacked them all and laid them out. Luckily we had our shot class yesterday so we (MG) feels more comfortable with mixing these and giving them to me.  #pimpinainteasy #neitherisIVF

~IVF is an overwhelming process. But damn if it doesn't feel somewhat more manageable when you've got someone going through it, right along side you (plus the others who have been there, done that, and are supporting you too). One of my blog buddies--you know who you are--has been my partner in solidarity through this. We're getting our meds at the same time, freaking out about needles, doc appointments, etc...together. And we even got our Buzzy shot blockers together too. It helps having an IVF buddy to walk through this process together with! #TTCsisters

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~I've been a reading machine this summer. I've made it through a book a week (or in slightly less time) and am so happy with getting back into this groove, and finding some good books along the way! I'm reading another Jojo Moyes book now! #readingismyjam

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~We're heading up to the shore this weekend and I'm looking forward to it. We'll be celebrating my MIL's birthday and just packing in some more family time after our trip to Deep Creek. We'll be in the same place we were at last summer, so we already know the place is cute, and perfectly located. Bring on the sunshine and sand! #sunonmyskin #feetinthesand

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~I have a breakfast date with a friend of mine this morning and I'm looking forward to it! I haven't seen her since we got out of school for the summer, and she's leaving for Greece in a little over a week so I'm gonna give her all of my recs of things to do! Love a little girl time over breakfast! #girlfrienddate

~my friend who was diagnosed with breast cancer had her surgery on Tuesday and everything went SO well! She is already back home and recovering. So thankful that things went smoothly! #praise

~I've been loving recapping our Greece trip (still have to recap the last two stops on our trip!) and seeing all of the people getting inspired to go and visit! How could you not want to go when you have such pretty views? #bringmebacktoGreece

~Part of my NSale purchases arrived yesterday (and really only the leggings were part of the sale). I love these new kicks and am so glad I finally bit the bullet and got them! #icouldntresist

~We finished OITNB the other day and I take back what I said about it feeling more like a comedy when we initially were watching it. Things got deep and dark real quick, especially at the end of the season! Still can't believe how the season ended! #whathewhat

~I got another pair of ear jacket earrings yesterday at Kohl's. They're Lauren Conrad and I'm smitten. Plus they were $8.50! #gimmealltheprettythings

What are you thinking this Thursday??

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WHW {#51}: Rhodes and Mykonos

Happy What's Hap-"Pinning" Wednesday! 

I've been sorting through our vacation photos, so I thought I'd continue the Greece recap today with our days in Rhodes and Mykonos!

We pulled into Rhodes on Tuesday morning and it was so cool to see the city surrounded by a huge stone wall! 

Going in, we didn't know a ton about Rhodes so we just got off the boat and wandered through the old city. We saw old churches/mosques, stone streets, and the Palace of the Grand Master which totally had a Game of Thrones kind of feel.

The roads in Rhodes are SO detailed and gorgeous! Just look at this:

After wandering through the old town for a bit (and buying a cute dress), we decided to hit up one of the beaches further down the coast so we hopped into a taxi and made our way to Faliraki Beach where we spent a few hours relaxing, playing in the water and soaking up the sun!

Around 2-3pm we made it back to the boat for a late lunch and relaxed by the pool for a bit since we were leaving port at 5pm.

That night we met up with our friends after dinner and saw the show on the boat which was a cool cirque Du Soleil inspired performance, and then we followed it up by karaoke with some other friends that Emily and DeWayne had met at their dinner table. It was a late night, with celebratory drinks of the engagement from the day before, and lots of off-key singing.

After going to bed past midnight, we were up shortly after 6am to explore Mykonos. Lucky for us, our boat was able to secure the one big slip for Mykonos, allowing us to just get off the boat instead of having to take a tender boat. SO much easier!

We spent the day with our friends Emily and DeWayne again and wandered through Mykonos Town. Again, it was so early in the morning that we got to see it without it being crowded by tourists which allowed for some really pretty pictures!

We decided to get ATV's again so that we could explore the island with ease. These ATV's left a little to be desired after the awesome ones we'd had in Santorini. Let's just say it sounded like we were riding on a lawn mower for the day, but it got the job done....slowly.

We hit the road and made our way to Elia Beach. Let me tell you, it was gorgeous and felt very much like a high end beach club with their super comfy sunbeds. We spent the morning soaking up the views, and the sun, and relaxing after our late night. We had lunch and the most amazing watermelon daiquiri I've had in my whole life and then left around 1pm to explore some of the other beaches.

We wanted to see one of the more "party" beaches having seen the relaxed one, so we made our way to Paradise Beach. It was pretty tame when we were there, but when we left around 5:30 it was starting to turn into a Cancun beach party. We got some time in the water, hung out in the shade for a couple of drinks where Em and I realized that we have a LOT more in common than just being SLP's, and before we left, Em and I participated in a bit of dancing as the party was getting started. 

We made it back to Mykonos town and dropped off the ATV's, then wandered through the area now that everything was open and bustling. We window shopped and then stopped for a snack (saganaki!) and a drink before getting back onto the boat.

Where Santorini is a lot of picturesque photos and rocky beaches, Mykonos is definitely beaches! Lots and lots to choose from, and they're more like what we think of beaches being like (sandy, less rocky). 

Mykonos and Santorini were two of my favorite places in Greece. Rhodes was an unexpected surprise to us and a nice little treat to get to stop there for a day, too!

Now it's your turn to link up with Jessi and I to share what's hap-"pinning" with you!

Greece Recap: {Athens and Santorini}

I'm gonna try and recap this with minimal block texts as possible because I know it doesn't mean as much to you as if you've been there, and there are plenty of photos to take the place of text! (Be warned--lots of photos ahead!)

MG and I arrived in Athens around 6pm and promptly dropped off our stuff at the hotel, freshened up, and headed out to explore and grab some food.

Our hotel room had a view of the Acropolis which was quite the way to start our Greece trip!

We wandered through the town of Plaka, up the winding hill/roads and found a cute taverna to eat dinner at while the sun set. I had my first greek salad, tzatziki and Mythos beer for the trip.

The next morning we walked over and up to the Acropolis where we got to wander through the ruins and take in the history and sights.

the Greeks loved their testicles....lol

We then made our way up another nearby path/hill to catch some awesome views of the city,  the Acropolis, and the water on the other side.

Afterwards, we grabbed a quick lunch in Plaka at a little outdoor cafe with lots of people watching, then headed back to the hotel to pack up. We made our way to the port of Piraeus  and onto the boat where we were docked for a full day. We explored the boat, got caught up on sleep and just relaxed. 

this is actually a field of grass on the top deck of the ship--not turf!

Sunsets on the boat were gorgeous and we met a couple from Detroit while sitting and watching the sunset on Sunday night. We discovered that me, and the other girl, Emily, are both speech therapists in elementary schools! 

The next morning (Monday), we were up early to get on the first tender boat to Santorini, and happened to sit right behind the couple from the night before. We then all decided to get ATV's together to ride around Santorini since we didn't have an excursion planned and I'd heard this was a fantastic way to get to see all of the island. We took the vernacular up because it was fast (about 3 minutes)--we didn't want to walk up the hundreds of steps, and the donkeys didn't look that appealing to ride up on--if you watched Below Deck this past week, you know what I'm talking about!

the winding road behind us where people/donkeys can walk up

We hopped on the ATV's and made our way to Oia (about 20 minutes on the ATV's) which is where the picturesque photos with white buildings, and blue rooftops are. Since it was early in the morning there were few people out and we were able to explore a bunch and take photos without many people around.

(this is one of my favorite photos that I took while we were in Oia)

We got to one point overlooking the water (above) and DeWayne, the guy we were with, asked me to take a video of he and Emily overlooking this area. And when I did, he started talking, got down on one knee and proposed! It was such a special moment and we felt so lucky to have been a part of it (and I was literally afraid that I would mess up the video somehow!)--DeWayne said that he had been so happy that we ended up spending the day together because we helped to capture this moment for them!

After that we took tons of photos on the walk down to Ammoudi Bay to have a celebratory drink--who cares that it was 10am?? haha

the newly engaged by minutes! :)

We sat and enjoyed the scenery and our drinks for a while before making our way back up the 220 steps which was strenuous! 

Ammoudi Bay

just a few of the 220 steps back up (and the donkeys)!

Huffing and puffing, and several minutes later, we rewarded ourselves with some fancy drinks, lunch and some spectacular views!

lunch view!

After that we made our way back out of Oia and it was PACKED. SO so crowded. We hopped on our ATVs (and thank goodness we had them because we were weaving in and out of traffic including cars and charter busses!), and made our way to Kamari beach (a black "sand" beach) by accident. We stopped here for some bottles of water but didn't stay because the beach wasn't really that great, and then made our way to the other side of the island to the red beach. We went down to the water's edge which was a trek (with no regard for the signs that warned of potential for falling rocks!! lol)

(on the way down)

We changed into our swimsuits, stuck our feet in the water, hung out for a bit, and then made our way back up the hill, and back to drop off the ATV's in Fira.

(on the way back up)

Then we wandered around Fira for a bit...stopped in a wine store and sampled some wines, ultimately buying a bottle of their semi-sweet red, made with specific grapes from Santorini, to bring back home with us, and then made our way back to the boat via the vernacular, with our newly engaged friends!

Santorini view from dinner that night on the boat:

Santorini, specifically Oia, was a DREAM! The rest of the island is pretty run down and not nearly as picture perfect as Oia is.  The beaches here aren't your typical beach--most of these are more stony or rocky, but still fun to see and experience. I'm so glad that we rented the ATV's as we got to see from one end of the island to the other in the time that we were there (with some time to spare) and it was gorgeous--the pictures don't even do it justice. Something about Oia just feels super magical and it was definitely a highlight of the trip for us! The guys both knew that Oia was where Emily and I had our hearts set on going, and after our day, they both said they totally understood why--it was an incredible place!