Beautiful Reminders from a Beautiful Trip

Well, I'm back. I arrived home late yesterday, and am still basking in the glow from a magical trip with some of my besties. It's amazing what a little sun, sand, salt water, and time with good friends can do for a girl!?!
Since I didn't blog at all while I was away (I truly thought I would--and wanted to--but once I was there, I was just too caught up in the moment to try and find an internet cafe...), I wanted to share a little recap of the trip today. And as you know, I'm quite the list-lover, so I thought, what better way to share my experience than through a list? 

So here are the top 5 lessons learned--or simple reminders--that came up for me while away (my trip takeaways, if you will...). I hope that these reminders will infuse your day with a bit of vacation mentality, no matter where you find yourself on this Monday. So here we go!


5 Lessons Learned/Simple Reminders from My Bachelorette Trip to the Beach

1. The beach = one of the most calming, meditative places in the world. 
If you need to relax, or remind yourself of what is truly important in life, head to the beach. The sound of the waves, the wind, the vast expanse of water spreading out in front of you, and all of the sea critters and shells will remind you of how big the world is, and how small our lives are in comparison. It's easy to put things into perspective when sitting on the beach, looking out at the horizon line, and I think it's really important to do this every once in a while. That email that didn't get out when you wanted to? Not such a big deal anymore... 

2. Good friends, who know you to your core, are some of the most important relationships in life. These relationships should be cherished (!). 
True friends know ALL of your flaws, your mistakes, your embarrassments, your history, and love you anyways. If you want to be reminded of who you are, where you've been, and how quickly life flies by, just spend some time with your best friends--those people who know you through and through--and you will feel a deep sense of gratitude, love, and happiness. I needed that!!!

3. Flare makes everything more fun. And adhesive mustaches are the *BEST* flare you can find these days. 
If there's one generalization that you could make about me and my friends, it's that we all love a bit of flare (especially my Maid of Honor!). And by a bit of flare, I mean a LOT.  For our special bachelorette night we had a set of pirate flare (eye patch, nose ring, etc.), a set of mustaches, necklaces, a feather boa, small sparkly "party posse" hats, a sash, and more. And yes, we wore it all. I don't want to brag, but I have to say that when we were walking around Ft. Myers Beach in our mustaches, we were treated like celebrities. I don't know how many people took pictures, pointed, or stared. It was hysterical! You can see how amazing they are, below.

This is how we looked for half of the night. It was incredible. Now I see why guys like mustaches so much, haha!

Best flare ever!

Two little girls who loved our mustaches SO much, that I gave them our last one. They danced with us for a while at an outdoor concert we stumbled upon...

4. We're not as young as we once were, but we can still throw an amazing party every once in a while (we just have to plan and save up for it ;)
It's true! There's nothing that will make you feel your age like going out with your college friends and realizing that you just can't hang the way that you used to. BUT, I think that in the grand scheme of things, this is a good (read: healthy) thing, and it makes those moments that we do celebrate a lot more special. Yes, we did pick one night of the trip to go out, and went to bed early every other night to "save up" for it, but it was totally worth it. I was up until 3:30am on Friday night, which I don't think has happened in years. Wooohooo!

Some of my lingerie party gifts and my white wine spritzer ;)

Delish mojito that I enjoyed during one of our dinners.

Cheers-ing with our super girly cups (we loved them!)

5. Tattoos REALLY hurt, but they sure are addictive/worth it!
I got my tattoo! And I love it! Yipppeeee! I made the tattoo artist, Charlie (who I adored), re-draw it 4 times before I was satisfied, but it was totally worth it. You can view the experience in pictures below :)

Before shot of my bare foot. I was SO nervous but also really excited.

Getting prepped and ready to start. Yes, I'm that dumb girl who wore a dress to get a foot tattoo, thus the awkward position...

Charlie doing his thing!

After shot of my foot. I was dying to take the bandage off, but it had to stay on for 4 hours.

Me, my friend Stacy, who also got a tattoo (GORGEOUS OM symbol on her ribcage!), and the tatto artist.

My new tattoo! I LOVE it.

As I always say, it's all about the simple joys in life, isn't it? I'll leave you with one final thought before I head out to rejoin reality and settle back into daily life today....

Namaste!
Mary Catherine