Beach Reads 2

If the first half of our Destin, Florida beach vacation was good, the second half was better. Reading was slow moving as we took on lots of activity the second half of the week. We saw dolphins and sharks on a boat tour that boasted a glass bottom (really it was windows below deck).

Grandma and Grandpa (aka my parents) handed out a good amount of spending money and we had a shopping spree at the nearby outlet mall. My daughters found some decent deals and when we all got home, it was like Christmas in...August. Let's just say school shopping is done. I bought two casual sun dresses, found at 70% off! Good deal and me in a dress? Usually only happens once a year (no joke), so this is a first for me.







Thursday was something of a date day. The kids stayed with my parents and my husband and I went down to the harbor for parasailing and jet skiing! Now, we are in no way adventurous. The fact that we considered any of it is a bit out of character. Parasailing was awesome! If you have a chance, just do it. I can't recommend jet skiing with the same intensity, but it was fun. And my husband will tell you parasailing was fun and jet skiing was awesome - minus the screaming wife. (I don't have a picture of jet skiing, but just imagine me behind him screaming in a high pitched voice, "Brandon! No, don't go that fast! My butt keeps flying off the seat! No, don't turn like that. Stop! STOP!!" This was only for the first 20 minutes of the hour long ride and then intermittently when we hit huge waves...and my husband was more amused than annoyed. He laughed at me the entire time and plenty afterward.)

Yes, I am using B&N as a vacation highlight and
 yes, I stood in the roadway to take this picture.

The restaurant we ate at Thursday night was in a plaza with Barnes & Noble. Honestly, our B&N here in little ole Boardman, Ohio is bigger and better organized on the inside; however, Destin's B&N's outward beauty takes the cake. The lighting and palm trees framing the majestic store front...wonderful. I walked around, seeing many titles I've been waiting for, until one hit me. I picked up Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. Kinda like my daughter buys magnets and my friend buys collector spoons, I always buy a book when I visit a new place.

After 14 years of carrying my stuff in a diaper bag or a huge
bag-purse to haul my kids' stuff, my first real purse!

I unexpectedly received an early birthday present from my husband. We hit the Coach store at the outlet mall and I got a purse and wallet for 80% off the already sale price! I've never owned anything Coach and this bag is Denver Broncos colors, so he digs that.

Even with all of that going on, I managed to do some late night reading on the balcony swing - the perfect reading nook, as the nights are warm and I could sleep out there if I wanted to.

I read MWF Seeking BFF, by Rachel Bertsche. Bertsche's memoir tracks her year long effort to make new friends after marrying and moving from New York to Chicago (hence, MWF = married white female). She goes on one "friend date" per week for a whole year, using "relationship behavior as the framework through which [she] sees the world," looking for the people who become so dear to us: good girlfriends.

Between anecdotes, Bertsche give statistics and current research of the effects of relationships on us, on others, and even on marriages and family life. Humorous and honest, Bertsche says what many people won't admit they're thinking as they search out the special niche it takes to make and be good friends. Along the way she learns a few things about the kind of friend she is and what she must do to be a better one. It took me a little time to get into it and I wouldn't say it's a must read, but it is a topic to which we can all relate. If the topic of friends and making friends is on your mind or interests you, this is a good pick. More than once I found myself nodding in agreement or having an 'aha' moment as I realized she was describing something I knew, but couldn't put my finger on. As someone who's done a lot of soul searching in my relationships the past year, this book was a good piece to add onto my log of research, reading, and advice I've collected on the topic.

And I have to say that I have never reached the end of a vacation and wanted to stay. This is a first...if my parents had said "Let's stay," I would've cancelled everything back home this week and stayed. But life moves on and, in the back of my head, the wheels for next vacation are turning.

Now on to The Devil in the White City!