{Have yourself a beachy little Christmas}

Hi everyone!!
Merry Christmas~
We just got back from KEY WEST and had a super marvelous time!!

See these smiles....
We were in pure bliss:)
Plus everything was just so Christmas=y....I really loved all the lights everywhere and have definitely decided to spend my Christmases somewhere tropical and happy:)
Even the trees were decorated so cutely:) {is that even a word?!?!}I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas morning wherever you are!! And you can bet i'll be sharing more of my happy photos of Key West in the weeks to come!! Take care and have a happy day!

"A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery while on a detour." Unknown

{party time}

Good Sunday Morning!!
Last night we had our annual Christmas party and it was SUPER fun.
Do you ever plan something that you stress about and then when it happens you are just so proud and happy that you did it!?!?!
That's how I feel about my parties....
I love to entertain and I love to have parties...but I STRESS....STRESS...STRESS about them.
Yet, when the day finally comes and the people start to arrive...I am in PURE BLISS:)
It makes me feel so happy in my heart to have such wonderful friends and family in my life!
Let's see....
I made these simple and tasty little cocktails.It's just...cheap champagne and pomegranate/cranberry juice! I pour half and half in a sugar rimmed champagne glass and add in a couple fresh raspberries. They look so festive and they don't cost a million dollars!
I think it's nice to have a signature cocktail to offer people when they arrive, even if the party is bring your own cocktail.
It makes me happy and it makes my guests happy:)

Now...I personally like to glam it up when I have a party... I think it's fun to get all glammed up.
But I always tell everyone...wear whatever makes you happy and you can come in your p.j.s....I just want you to come:)No one really does come in their pajamas. In fact, I think we all look pretty nice~ Even my husband glammed it up! Any party I have ALWAYS includes dancing! For this...we clear out the living room and use whatever we can find to sing and dance:) My friend, Michelle, chose a lamp {minus the shade} as her microphone. She cracks me up:) I just think it's so nice to have a *fun* holiday party!! At this time of the year everyone is so busy attending work parties, shopping and just plain running around like a mad person. I like to give people the opportunity to just let loose and have a good time:)
And boy do we know how to let loose! just look at my kitchen at the end of my party:) Now....of course...we had some yummy food!! I made pork tenderloin for the meat eaters:)
And I made a couple healthy options! I think it's important to have healthy options when you're at a party! Parties make it SOOOOO easy to overindulge! It helped knowing that my friend Jamie {she's a personal trainer} was coming.

She has definitely helped me a TON in getting fit and healthy!! Just look how cute she is. I still have a little more to go and will get right back on track AFTER the holidays. And I know she'll be right there to help me out:)
Anyway I made....cous cous with chopped up veggies! Simple and definitely healthy!
I also made tropical salsa! I love this salsa. Canned tropical fruit, chopped onions, fresh cilantro, lime juice, cumin and chili powder and wala...a healthy and tasty salsa!

Ok....well I better get to cleaning up the mess!! Have a Happy Sunday!!

"Live life fully while you're here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You're going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don't try to be perfect ; just be an excellent example of being human." Anthony Robbins

{summer Sundays}

Top of the morning....

This past Sunday our friends were kind enough to invite out for a boat ride on our local river.

I love summer Sundays or as I like to call them.....Sudzy Sundays~

It was the perfect way to ring in the impending work week.....

The water was calm~

The sky was beautiful~

I saw this cute little gazebo right on the river~Here's how I roll in the sun~With a golf umbrella! I don't know what happened to me...but as I get older I just can't enjoy cocktails in the blazing sun. For some reason it just gives me terrible headache. But problem solved.....bring a golf umbrella! Plus with all the riding I am doing, I think I am getting plenty of sun.

My friend and I ....... it's really just so nice to have great friends! My husband and I....I know he loves Sudzy {I mean} Summer Sundays~

After the afternoon on the water we all grilled out...

I made a super yummy vegetable salad~

And my husband actually enjoyed some!!!

I, of course, enjoyed some vino~All in all it was a fabulous Sunday! How do you enjoy your Sundays???

"Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So love the people that treat you right, forget about the ones who don't, and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said it'd be easy, they just promised it would be worth it." Unknown