Florida Photo Diary

I just arrived back in Brooklyn after a nice summer vacation in Florida. As a 'grown-up', it can be difficult to find that time to relax. As a kid, I thought summer break was way too long, but of course now, I kind of miss it. Luckily for me, my hometown is in sunny, beachy Florida. It's great to be able to visit my family and have the quintessential summer holiday. I shared many pictures along the way on Instagram, but I also wanted to diary-style a few new ones and highlight some of my favourite moments.

Preston's family has so many different animals. It's funny to see how our [now] city cats take in the outdoors. They love exploring and go right up to the mini horses, goats, and anything else. 

Braids & bold lips were my thang this vacation. I loved this summer look. This packing list was super helpful and made planning outfits easy.

We had a blast at Universal Studios. When we lived in Florida, we would go to the theme parks all the time, so we try to make a trip to Orlando whenever we are in town. We really wanted to see the newest addition to the Harry Potter World. It was indeed magical.

Another 'tourist' spot I love to visit is historic St. Augustine. It's so beautiful to walk around. This time, my mom, sister, and I visited San Sebastian Winery. I have to say the wines were a bit on the sweet side for me, but it was a fun experience listening to live music on the rooftop.

I probably had a little too much fun with the inflatable donut (and the flash tats). I secretly had it shipped to my mom's house just in time for pool fun. I am not a huge summer person, but I do miss the lack of swimming access I have in New York. Nothing beats having a pool in your own backyard.

Boating. Another water activity I miss. I am so grateful that we were able to do so much this trip. It was a blast speeding down the intracoastal. We had so many sunny days (excluding the 3pm showers).

Preston & I are high school sweethearts. It's seems silly saying it that way, but it's true. We also went to college together. It's crazy to think that we graduated four years ago. With that in mind, we decided to drive out to the swamp to visit our alma mater. It was so uncanny walking around, seeing where we used to live, where we used to get lunch, have class. So many routines that were daily, turned into something we hadn't done for years. We also got to see another side of Gainesville with the guide of a friend that still lives there.

Not going to lie, Preston & I do tend to revert to our youth with trips back home. I think that's normal right? We played in the pool for hours (I have the sunburns to prove it) and had regular board game nights. Grown-up board games, though. It's fun to have more people around for games as two-player games are hard to come by. A new favourite was Coup. The above zombie game is a nightmare. I don't think it's been beaten yet.

The food theme of this trip was tacos. Which is fine by me, I love tacos. We met up with friends in Jax Beach on one of the last nights and finished the evening off by a stroll along the ocean.

Preston was able to sneak some mountain biking in, along with extreme go carting. We also had to take Rococo to the vet for a dental cleaning. I was so worried, but she is all better and has clean teeth. We are settling back into our routines, though tomorrow is going to feel like a long one. Now that I had my summer vacation, I am eager for fall. Plus, I start a new job in a couple of weeks, so there is a lot to look forward to. It's always hard to leave our families, but Christmas will be here before you know it, and we love our life together in Brooklyn. Why can't there be teleportation machines already?!

What did you do this summer?