where to read the blog in chronological order from post to post, grab your coffee

We may have turned the dining room into a closet and the guest bedroom into our bedroom this weekend. Which proved very confusing for one cute black dog. Much more to come on all of that this week. Details include newspapers from 1963 and an Engelbert Humperdinck record from 1976. I’m just sayin’.

And now for the real fun, I took a little girls’ trip recently to a place I had never heard of before, Anna Maria Island, which is just off the coast of Tampa, FL in the Gulf of Mexico and it was awesome.

Not only is it a quaint little waterfront community with charm and personality galore, I mean check out this awesome mailbox.

But we were lucky enough to stay in the beautiful Sirenia Cove vacation rental … and the owner is offering a 4 NIGHT VACATION RENTAL GIVEAWAY FOR ONE OF YOU!!

If you love coastal decor, and you must if you’re hanging around here, then you are going to feel right at home in this 4 bedroom, 3 bath waterfront home. Maybe you’ll end up staying in this gorgeous turquoise room.

I can attest first hand that this colorful room with that DIY painted and framed coral is a vacation nights’ sleep dream room.

That’s right, I said DIY. The homeowner is one of us! So many fun DIY coastal decor ideas have been implemented throughout. Like these sand dollars and star fish.

Grab some spray paint and shadow box frames from IKEA and you could create your own colorful coastal decor.

And to do a little bragging on Nancy (the homeowner), she is also an accomplished artist. I am in love with this boat painting that she created herself.

So it wasn’t any surprise when I found out that Nancy’s daughter actually painted the house name sign that greets you right when you enter the home.

Here is a shot of Sydney, the DIYer herself, in action.

One of my absolute favorite features that I would implement into our own house today if we had stairs are the perfectly nautical oar shaped railings.

And if you’re not sitting up in that second floor reading nook you may find yourselves gathered on this screened in back porch overlooking the pool and canal … we may have ended each evening there just gathered around reminiscing about the day ~~and plotting a strategy to return~~.

And the littles accompanying your vacation are going to love this 3rd floor loft that is built to look like they’re captaining a ship, complete with water views out the window.

And every time I thought “I need to get some pictures of this great pool area” I was actually in the pool, but I did skip down and snap this picture right before departure. Such a cozy place to hang out during those lazy vacation afternoon.

And there are also a handful of beautiful beaches that are only a short bike ride or golf cart ride away if you want to get out and about.

And Nancy has arranged to have bike AND a golf cart rental included with this awesome vacation getaway giveaway.

Prize Package includes:

4 Night stay at Sirenia Cove on Anna Maria Island
1 ~ $60.00 Gift Certificate to Eat Here Restaurant Group
1 ~ Free Golf Cart Rental for 4 Days from Fun and More Rentals
Free Beach Bike Rental for 4 Days from Fun and More Rentals
2 ~ Paddleboard or Kayak Rentals for 4 Days from Fun and More Rentals
Free use of Beach Chairs for 4 Days from Sirenia Cove
1 – Portrait by the Sea value of $100.00 from Photography by Billi
Photos to be purchased based on selection from proofs
2 Free Shadepops

A great big thank you to not only Nancy for the use of her beautiful home, and coordinating this giveaway but we can’t leave without a shout out to Fun And More Rentals for the use of the bikes, golf cart and hosting a guided kayak tour that was awesome!

And to Ford who provided two cars for us to get from the Tampa Airport to Anna Maria Island and back, it’s an easy hour ride each way and these comfortable riding Ford Fusions made it that much better!

Plenty of trunk space for the car load of travel essentials we were all toting around.

And if I could offer up just one last little tip, if you’re ever in the Anna Maria Island area you have to eat at Eat Here, even if you aren’t the winner of this prize. Great food, friendly service and a super eclectic environment that is perfect for a night out on vacation. I had the pizza special of the day. Delish!

All in all it was the perfect getaway with a few girlfriends and I’m super excited to see which one of you will win one!! And check out the posts from my the others since we all are sharing our own individual photos from the trip!

Roeshel from DIY Showoff
Kelly from Eclectically Vintage
Diane from In My Own Style
Beth from Unskinny Boppy
Carrie from Making Lemonade
Denise from The Painted Home

Good luck!!

Happy Friday the 13th!! Have you entered the giveaway yet? There are FIVE $100 gift cards up for grabs. And there’s still time to vote for our porch in Better Homes and Gardens Ultimate Summer Bash challenge right here. It’s still crazy to see our little porch on BHG.com.

Last weekend Joel and I skipped off to New Orleans for our first visit to the eclectic city and what better day to show you a few of the fun sights of the notoriously haunted city than today. While we lived in Curacao I did a pretty regular series where I would chronicle our travels and just some fun finds on the island. Like a typical day, or the dogs in our neighborhood or some of my favorite Curacao beaches and sunsets. 🙂

So here is the New Orleans edition, from chippy brick walls to massive mansions.

NOLA, as I just learned it’s called, was one of those places that I had no idea what to expect and was really excited to see it first hand.

I had visions of “grandiose New Orleans architecture” and at the same time, I had no idea what that meant.

Based on a suggestion we bought an all day streetcar pass and took the St. Charles Street route to the end of the line and then got off part way back to walk and take pictures of some pretty impressive estates.

I love the variety of architectural details.

But for as awesome as these homes were, and they were pretty incredible in scale, I still felt that they weren’t exactly what I was expecting. You know those times when you don’t have a specific expectation, but you do know what your expectation isn’t?

Not to take anything away from these homes. The sheer scale is enough to be drool worthy.

I could stare at the extra-large columns and immaculate landscaping all day. And I now think I need some ivy growing up our stair risers … somewhere.

Even the more “humble abodes” have enough detail to entice us to stop and swoon.

We even saw a few works in progress. Like this colorful gem. You can partially see the crane on the left doing some second floor exterior rehab.

And this is a pseudo before and after for a pair of identical homes, the one on the left is in the process of becoming the equal of her twin on the right.

And at the end of our walk we were both still thinking we hadn’t quite seen the New Orleans architecture we had envisioned in our little brains.

So we rested up for the afternoon and ventured out onto Bourbon St at night and saw some things I will never be able to unsee. Which is unfortunate. 😉

But the next day more than makes up for it as we meandered deep into the heart of the old French Quarter and soaked in all of the rustic, shabby beauty that we love so much.

Keep walking past the eclectic groups of street performers.

And the popular Jackson Square.

And the beaded light post.

And this guy and his perfectly turquoise doors.

And just soak it all in. Because I’m disappointed to say that I didn’t take too many more pictures. I think we were just having too much fun pointing out fun features to each other, and guessing which house is Brangelina’s.

I am in love with this brick and aqua combo.

And if I did have painted brick I would definitely be tempted to just let it chip away.

And we may have struck up conversation with the guys restoring this beautiful building about local historic requirements and regulations. Because we know how to have a good time. 🙂

And I’m happy to say that we spent our last evening in New Orleans on Frenchmen Street and if you like jazz, blues or any kind of music with colorful horn players and dark, seedy back alley type bars, this is the street to be on.

And then we finally felt like we had seen the New Orleans we knew we would love … but we couldn’t resist one last walk back to our hotel via Bourbon Street just to solidify the fact that we are not wild bachelor/bachelorette party types. Like there was ever a doubt. 🙂

How you would describe yourself? The big mansion or chippy brick “row house” type? Blow out bachelorette party on Bourbon St … or a couple of your best girlfriends at your local dive bar where pitchers of beer are $3? Not that that’s what I did, but if I did it would be with these beauties.

And the night would end with homemade stove top popcorn. Of course. 🙂

Have a great weekend y’all. Hopefully you’ve got World Cup fever. We’re big soccer fans around here. And in honor, take a look back at our visit to Argentina, home of Joel’s favorite player Lionel Messi.

Anna Maria Island vacation

New Orleans, St. Charles Street and The French Quarter