Summer Vacation 2013

 

The last week of June my family and I headed to Garden City for my family’s annual summer beach vacation. This is a week we look forward to every summer and has become a tradition for us.

We love Garden City, SC because my grandparents had a beach house and we grew up spending our weekends and summers at the beach house.

Although we no longer have the house, we still spend a week each summer making memories at Garden City. We had a wonderful week this past week full of sunshine, inlet views, and yummy eats!

We had a great week!

*britton*

29 and holding…

 

Yes, today is a pretty special day! I am the big 2-9 today! I am also the best anniversary gift my parents ever received! I am also the anniversary gift that keeps on giving each year! Mom just loves when I remind her of that.

After this year, I will no longer be having birthdays! I fully intend to enjoy this one to the fullest today because after today, I am officially 29 and holding! :)

Happy Anniversary to these two stud muffins!!! 36 awesome years and they are looking better than ever!! Love them to the moon and back!

*britton*

2nd Anniversary Weekend

A few weekends ago we took off to Kiawah Island to celebrate our 2nd anniversary! Our actual anniversary was on Tuesday but we both had to work all week so we decided to celebrate the weekend after. Friday, I left work around 3 and we hit the road to Charleston. We stopped at the Fat Hen to eat dinner before driving the rest of the distance to Kiawah. The Fat Hen was excellent, cute, and quaint. We enjoyed our dinner very much!

Saturday we got up, went to Freshfields shopping center to grab breakfast and coffee and the headed to the beach for the day. The weather was amazing! We had such a good time just relaxing on the beach. The beaches of Kiawah Island are beautiful surrounded by gorgeous homes and lots of nature trails. Biking is definitely the preferred means of transportation on the island. Next time, we will make room to take our bikes!

Then after a day full of fun in the sun, we headed back to get ready for our dinner in downtown Charleston. Because it was Memorial Day weekend, we had a hard time making reservations but finally decided on Blossom.

I enjoyed the drinks and the atmosphere at Blossom. I ordered the lamb sausage pizza and it was delicious and the husband ordered the steak. It was just so-so. For $30, I would expect a little more. Overall, we had a very nice anniversary dinner.

Sunday we slept in a bit and then packed our stuff. The husband went to Freshfields again to grab some breakfast and coffee. After we got ready, we headed downtown to do a little bit of shopping. Let’s just say I got into some serious trouble at Palm Avenue and lululemon! :)

After a late lunch at A.W. Shucks, we headed back to Florence for my cousins’ birthday party!

We had a great weekend and we plan to continue the anniversary trip tradition instead of giving gifts!

The baby had a fun weekend in the country while we were gone. He could barely keep his eyes open on the ride home.

*britton*

Lately and Mother’s Day Weekend 2013

Last Thursday, I graduated from the Provisional Status in our local Junior League chapter. I am excited to be an active and to participate as a co-chair for a night of the Holiday market. They gave us a service award and a small bouquet of flowers to say congrats!

 

Sometimes you just have to celebrate with some wine and cheese!

This weekend was pretty low-key which was fine by me! Friday afternoon after school, I met my friend Jennifer for a 15 mile bike ride. It felt great to be back on the bike, well, except my tush! It felt as though I was sitting on a concrete slab! I really need to get a seat cushion.

Saturday I got up pretty early and hit the pavement at 7:45 for a 10 miler. I have been doing 10 miles for my long runs lately just to keep a base. Although I have not been running nearly as much as I was, I do not want to loose the base of 10.

After I ran, my sweet baby and I headed to the pool. I snapped this of him as soon as we got home Saturday afternoon. A full day of sunning and swimming got the best of him!

 

Sunday I headed to church and to celebrate my wonderful awesome mom! We had a wonderful day celebrating her and how much she means to our family!!

We often get told we could be sisters! I so see it in this picture!

I also am a doggie mom and my baby had the perfect shirt to wear. He sported it proudly! He loves his mommy for sure, especially when she gives him treats and takes him to the pool and to doggy daycare!

It was a fun, relaxing weekend!

Cheers, Britton

Blog Sale Link-up

Hi Friends! I am going to link up with Ashley at Let’s Get Bananas for the blog sale!

I have tried eBay and our local face book group to sell stuff but I have not yet tried to sell my items through the blog land! So, here it goes!

I will ship all items for $5. Please feel free to email me with any questions and to purchase items. I will not accept returns. All items come from a smoke-free home. I will only use PayPal as a form of payment!

Eliza J One Shoulder Dress – Size 8 – worn once to church for easter $40

NWT Kensie dress – Size 8 but ran very small!!! $30

Nike Dri-Fit Tanks – Size M – worn but still in very good shape – both for $12

James Jeans High-Rise Flare Leg Denim – worn a few times but in excellent condition – Retailed at $178

$50

Sanctuary Cropped Pants – Size 8 – Never worn but does not have tags – just didn't fit me right

$20

Email me at itsabeautifulthingthislife@gmail.com !

Weekend Re-Cap

 

This weekend was pretty low key. Friday night we did our usual dinner with family and friends at Stefano’s.

After dinner, we headed home to spend some time together and to give the fur baby some snuggles. The husband is going to Beijing, China for several weeks. So we spend a little extra time together.

Saturday after we saw the husband off, I headed out for an 11 mile run. It was unusually cool and very windy Saturday morning. Although the weather wasn’t ideal I got it done with an average of 8:38 per mile.

After my morning run, I did the usual Saturday chores and then headed out for lunch with my mom at The Clay Pot. I had been once before but only to grab a latte. It exceeded my expectations. It was such a cute little shop and my tomato pie was delicious!

We ran a few errands around town and then I headed home to spend the evening with Jillian Flynn’s Gone Girls and sweet snuggles from my baby.

 

Sunday I got up and went to church and then spend the rest of they day inside. My planned bike ride with friends was canceled due to the nasty weather. I haven’t been on my bike in several months and I am itching to ride! Better luck next weekend!

It’s Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week at school this week. I got to school to find this in by box and we get Sweet cupcakes at lunch, ice-cream social tomorrow, massages Wednesday, and giveaways all week! It’s going to be a great week!

 *britton*

Divas Half Marathon Race Recap

 

Last weekend I made my way to Myrtle Beach, SC which is about an hour and 20 minutes from out home.

We spend a lot of time at the beach with friends so every opportunity to run at the beach I always jump on it. I registered for the Diva half sometime last year before the price increase. All you had to say was champagne and shirtless men at the finish and I am there!

My running has been less than stellar recently. I have not been running as much or near as fast. I think over the past 3 1/2 years I have completely worn my body down with a ton of running and no rest.

So, I have used CrossFit as an alternate workout and decreased my mileage for a while to give the body some recovery time from running.

With that being said, I didn’t train much for this race. I didn’t set any time goals or set any expectations other than I would be thrilled to be under 1:45.

We arrived at the beach house around 11:00 and met up with Michael and Lauren. They boys stayed to do yard work and we headed to the Expo.

The expo was awful. There were too many booths and too many people and space that was just too small. I don’t usually get claustrophobia, but I think I caught it in that expo. Lauren and I got our stuff, snapped a few pictures, and got the heck out of there!

After we ate lunch at McAlister’s we headed down to the beach to meet the boys. The weather was a little cool but still a beautiful afternoon to sit on the beach and enjoy being with friends. We hit the showers after that and then headed to Market Commons to eat at Travinia Italian Kitchen. We live at Market Commons when we are at the beach and surprisingly we had never been here. It was delish!

Sunday morning the alarm went off at 5:00. We had to drive to the aquatics center to park and take the bus to the starting line. There was plenty of parking, plenty of buses, and a perfectly clean restroom inside the aquatics center! Halleluja!!! I made note of that bathroom because the seat was still up from where they had cleaned it last. That would be a first for me as far as clean race day bathrooms go! Y’all know how that is!

We got to the start line about 45 minutes early and I had to hit the bathrooms several more times. I really hate when this happens to me but it ALWAYS happens to me. Everyone says it’s because I over think the bathroom thing too much and it makes me have to go. I don’t know if I believe all that!

And shortly thereafter, I lined up behind the 1:44 pace and mapped out my game plan. I wanted to stay with or right behind her the whole race. (That did not happen.)

Right before we started we bowed for a moment of silence for Boston. I shed a few more tears and thanked God for giving me the ability to race the Diva race that morning.

Then I put my gameface on and took off. Might I add I took off way too fast like I always do! I ended up way ahead of the pacer.

I started with a 7:58 mile, then a 7:51 mile, then a 7:45 mile. I knew it was come back to bite me in the butt….and it did about mile 6.

I started getting really hot and couldn’t get my breathing right. After about mile 5 I never ran another sub 8.

I ended up running an official time of 1:46:02. That was good for 68th place overall out of 3,300 people and 9th place in the 25-29 age group. I am not disappointed with this but it is nowhere near my best or what I am capable of. I think my body is still in “take a break from running for a while” mode.

Right before we turned the final corner to the finish there were volunteers passing out pink boas and crowns. I did not like the fact that I had to slow down to grab and then situate them on my head and around my neck. Although that was kind of annoying, the photo opp was too good to pass up! It is not everyday that you have a good excuse to wear a boa and tiara, so I took advantage of the opportunity!

At the finish a seriously hot shirtless hunk handed me my medal, congratulated me, and gave me a high five! That was totally worth running! I then received a rose, champagne, and some delicious cookies and water.

Overall it was a great race that was well organized! I would definitely do it again! Hopefully next year I can convince my mom and sister to do it with me. I am still working on that!

Is anyone there?

Hi friends!!! It's me, Britton. Do you remember me? Is there anyone still out there?

I am still here, believe it or not! I love, love, love reading blogs and being a part of the blog world but I haven't done such a great job keeping up with my own little space!

I've been working like a crazy person, running, taking care of my fur baby, spending a little time with he hubby, and my newest addiction...crossfit!

I am determined to get back to the blog and update once every week or two! I am going to try at least! So for now, ill leave you with a few photos from the last few months!!