Southern Livin’

Captain and I road tripped through the South last week and had such a lovely time! We got our fill of good eats and just truly enjoyed the quality time (sans kids). My man’s been working like crazy so it was nice to see him not exhausted from the physical labor of his job (fishing in 100F weather).

So we left Miami and headed to our first stop…St Augustine, FL:

Then, we hit Beaufort, SC:

Next stop was Charleston, SC:

And our grand finale was Savannah, GA:

Loved, loved, loved every moment of it! I’m still dreaming about the food…

Your biscuit-and-fried-chicken-loving friend,

Athena xo

Splendor in the Beach

Recently got back from vacation with my lovely boyfriend, Captain! We had a wonderful time in the Turks & Caicos. Spent five days there with pretty excellent weather. We swam, snorkeled, fished, and relaxed. 

While I was gone, the kids went with their dad, Grayheart, around New England for some good ole fashioned fun. (Seeing my kids leave for a plane trip without me was pretty tough. It worked out well that I left 3 days later!)

Anyhow, thought I’d share some pictures of our fun. Hope everyone’s having a great summer. Sending you all some sunshine! 
I’m counting down before I get back to work in a week! ☀️🌴💛

Our sunset walks 🌛

Island hopping!

Happiest of hours! 🍹 Salud!

Spot the wild donkeys?!

Daily walk in South Caicos

I “conch” believe how beautiful it is here! 😉

City of Siblings

I was in the City of Angels last week with my sister visiting our brother and his husband. (The kids stayed backed in Miami with Grayheart since it was his weekend.)

It was a fun and relaxing trip. We hadn’t gotten together like this since our Europe trip in Sept/Oct of last year. 

I figured I’d share some of the fun things we did while here. 🙂

How we were greeted! 😍

Palm Springs living!

Being silly on Venice Beach

TMZ tour

90210

Chinese Theater

My fave actor/comedian’s star

Nutella French toast for breakfast

Bachata dancing

In-n-Out Burger! Yum!

My sis at Sweet Candy Store

It was a nice little getaway and
really great bonding time with my siblings.
Makes me proud that even in our thirties we still make time for each other. I hope my kids are just as close to each other as we are. It’s really a special thing to have siblings. 

I can’t wait for the next reunion! ❤️

xo

Winter is White!

I hail from Miami.

Where it is hot.

And green.

And muggy.

And rainy.

Often. 😒

Our seasons range from crazy stupid hot to annoying hot to hot to nice cool breeze then a just-kidding-that-coolness-wasn’t-going-to-last warm.

Where am I going with this?

It is winter and other places around the country/world are actually getting snow.

I wanted a white Christmas this year.

Captain and I discussed getting away for a trip right before Christmas and easily settled on Colorado. A few things fell in place and off to Steamboat Springs we went!

And it was ah-mazing!!!

The drive from Denver to Steamboat was incredible. Pictures do not do the Rocky Mountains justice. Fellow blogger Grandfather Sky warned me to prepare to be in awe of it. He was absolutely correct. 

The mountains were soooo picturesque…they looked fake!  

Then we get into the town of Steamboat. And it was just perfection. People were friendly, the town was quaint, the snow was powdery and gleaming white and there were a number of incredibly fun things to do.  

Catholic Church I came across

  

 
And several fun food and craft beer options if you knew where to go. 

Craft beer and my first ever taste of beef jerky. Not my fave.

      

   
So what does a hot weathered gal like me do in a wintry weathered location like this?

We might have checked out a dispensary for gummy bears. 

Very interesting place!

  
And tried the hot springs at Strawberry Park… 

Pic is from Explore Steamboat since we went at night and didn’t take pics.

 

And went skiing…

Only pic we took b/c I was a terrible skier!

Some fishing perhaps… 

Can’t remember if this is a brown trout or a rainbow trout!

 
Shopping!  Horseback riding in the snow?  

It snowed the entire ride!

 

Definitely hot cocoa by the fireplace. 

Hotel lobby

 
Even after all that fun, we didn’t get to do everything we’d hoped for. I would have loved to have gone snow-mobiling or tubing or had a sleigh ride to dinner… But I’ll have to leave that to next time.

So although I left Christmas eve, I feel like I got the white Christmas I was looking for. It was a wonderful getaway with Captain and really got me in the holiday spirit. 

Colorado, you “rock!”

❤️

Athena 

Colorado bound

I’m so excited to share!

Captain booked us a trip to Steamboat, Colorado! This is my Christmas gift! 🎄

  We leave today and will be gone for 5 days! (Grayheart has the kids the first week of holiday break.)

I’m going skiing! ⛷ I haven’t gone in several years and cannot wait! I can’t wait to see snow again and breathe the crisp air the mountains have to offer.

I’d love any suggestions you have of the area as I’ve never been to Colorado. I’ll be in Denver and Steamboat. I’m thrilled to get to see this part of the country!

XO

Athena the ski bunny 🎿🐰

  

My best friend’s wedding

I finished spending the weekend in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, for my best friend’s wedding. And I had a fabulous time! What a change of pace from my recent travel to Europe. 

We stayed at an all-inclusive resort on the beach. Wedding took place there, too, so all the action was in one spot.

We ate like kings, drank like fish, swam like mermaids and partied like rock stars.  Here are a few pictures around the property.   

  
   
 
Then the wedding! The wedding! It was phenomenal! Let me just break it down for you guys. Lily, the bride, is Colombian, while Frank, the groom, is Dominican. If you know anything about these cultures, you know they know how to party! The two families get along great as do all of their friends. 

The ceremony was lovely. And I was so happy for their union. As far as how I felt – from a soon to be divorced person – I felt great. I love these two together and felt nothing but pride and happiness for them. I carefully listened to the vows, though, and soaked them in. If I ever take those vows again, they will be words I carefully live and love by. I will never again have anyone tell me I neglected them after I had children. (Yes, I’m still sensitive about that!) 

    

The wedding had everyone dancing like crazy! Old, young… it didn’t matter! You were going to shake your tail feathers til it hurt. The Colombians felt it their duty to pass out shots of Aguardiente throughout the night. (This stuff gives you hair on your chest. No joke.) And the Domincians were such a hospitable bunch.

  
  
 
We then went to the disco and casino and didn’t get back to our rooms til 4:30 am. That’s a late night for Mama Athena! (I won $40 playing roulette, yeah!)

I woke up the next morning with sore feet, neck hurting, legs tight, back all screwed up… you name it! Totally an indication of how serious my salsa, reggaeton and hip hop dancing was! (Translation: I’m rusty these days. Dammit.)

Wow. What a restorative weekend. Great quality time with a bunch of my best friends. Sun, beach, pool, eating, dancing, sleeping… doesn’t get better than that! 

   

Oh, and for the record… If anyone ever needs an ego boost, go to Dominican Republic! These guys are lovers by nature and will make you – as well as every other woman there – feel like you are a princess! 

 

Amsterdam – Good eats!

This is my second visit to Amsterdam and I continue to love this city so much!

I noticed a slight change in the city since my last visit in 2007, particularly the food scene. There is still an abundance of different ethnic cuisines, but I found a ton of new (what I think of as) “California style” restaurants and really enjoyed them. People tend to give the Dutch a hard time about their food but I love all the options this area has to offer!

So you all already know I basically pac-manned my way through France! Well, do not fret because I was almost as gluttonous in Amsterdam as well!

Here are some fun food pics:

Dutch pancakes – Sweet & Savory!

Cheese, please!

Hot chocolate!

Waffle a la mode complete with Nutella!

Lovely healthy dinner

And then we may have dabbled in some other delicacies while there…

While on the topic of good eats… Found this in a window front of a store! LMAO! Hope there’s no one sensitive reading!

#goorganic

Stay tuned for pics around town!

XO

Athena

Thoughts on Paris

I was in Paris for 4 days. Frankly, too short of a time.  I barely scratched the surface of this incredible city.

Paris is historic and edgy and cool and no nonsense. There’s a seedy side mixed between regular life and tourists galore. My expectations were looooow as to how friendly people were going to be so I was pleased with how our peeps were treated. I tried really hard to speak the little pathetic French I know so I think that helped. And, c’mon! Who can resist my charm?

So here are some of the interesting experiences we had, in no particular order:

– Upon arrival, we took the train from the airport to where we were staying. It was morning and we were exhausted… But then we were revived with rappers on the train rhyming in French to some reggaeton songs! Woot woot! ¡Dále!

  

– We rented an apartment with an amazing rooftop view. We had drinks, breakfast and great convo up there. Not to mention we watched the Eiffel Tower light up each night. 

  

– Another night, a group of people were jamming with a speaker on the park behind the Eiffel Tower. We jumped in, danced the night away and had a ball!!!

  

– One night (more like wee hours of the morning) outside our window, we heard some guy screaming for the police right after what sounded like a scuffle between him and two guys. I think he got mugged! 

  

– Had tea in the little shopping area where the Louvre is located.

  

– Lovely walk and quality time with my family in the Jardin du Luxembourg.

  

– I got cursed out by a homeless man while having dinner next to the window front of a restaurant. He was drunk and missing a shoe and disheveled and looking for a fight. Certainly made my night lively! Oh, and I tried escargot for the first time. 

 

– Watched break dancers off the steps at Trocadero, across from Eiffel Tower.

   

And countless other funny things that are only funny when there.  I’m sure none of these things are particularly unique but it’s some of the colorful memories I had during my slice of Parisian life.

I can’t wait to return one day!

PS – The smoking is out of control, though. Yuck!

Bonne nuit!
  

I ate my way through Paris

Damn it.

I was warned. 

I was told of the decadent desserts and crusty loaves of bread and creamy cheeses and full bodied wines… And I still was not prepared to handle what came over me when I actually came face to face with these foods (or beverages)!

My senses were on overload! Bakeries are my thing, in general. And to have one on each corner… Nom, nom, nom.

Choux pastries & Eclairs…  

  

Gelato… 

Espresso and all other delicious French roasted coffee…

  

Cheese aplenty…

  

French baguettes, rich jams and marmalades…

  

Bordeaux and Chardonnays…Nutella filled crepes…croissants…macarons…

And that’s not all of everything I tried!  How do the French stay so damn thin?

I’m now in detox mode! 
XO

I’m baaaaaack!

Hey there peeps!

I’m back! And rejuvenated! 

And happy! 

What an amazing trip…

I’m going to put together some posts by country and share some cool pictures. 

In the meantime, Happy Friday!

   
XO – Athena