Paradise Vacation 2013: St. Kitt's

These next vacation posts were originally posted on the Amy in Austin blog,  but I wanted to preserve our "pre-wedding honeymoon" on our new blog as well. We took advantage of a nearly all-expenses paid trip back in January, and went ahead and made it our honeymoon since we knew it would be unlikely that we'd be able to take a trip of this caliber on our own dime.


I'm breaking this trip up into multiple parts. We have so many fun pictures and stories to share, and I'm not looking to break any records with an epic post of this trip. I won the Circle of Excellence Award at work (for sales performance and meeting set goals), and was rewarded with a trip to the Four Seasons, Nevis. We decided to head out a couple of days early so that we'd have plenty of time to ourselves, and booked 2 nights on the lovely island of St. Kitts.

After 12 long hours of traveling, we arrived a 9pm in St. Kitts on Friday night. We chose to stay at the Marriott St. Kitt's Resort & Royal Beach Casino because it seemed like the easy thing to do. With a long name like that though, we should have known it was going to be a monstrous hotel. But we just needed a place to land for 2 nights that wouldn't be much of a hassle. After a very lame bar dinner and less than impressive service the first night, I already knew that we would likely never visit it again.

But when we woke up Saturday morning, we were treated to a beautiful view, and were so excited to start our vacation. We took off for a short run and made our way over to what is known as "the strip"- a small string of beach bars/restaurants that seems to be popular for late night dancing and revelry. There are several international schools on the island, and apparently the strip is where they like to party.

After our run, we grabbed a quick breakfast in the lobby and then got ready to hit the beach. We really didn't want to be stuck at the hotel all day, as it was on the rougher Atlantic side. Several people recommended that we taxi to a small beach bar on the Caribbean side of the island called Shipwreck. It's tucked away on a secluded strip of the beach, and I swear it's where you go when you don't want to be found. We snagged two chairs covered by a little palapa roof, and quickly ordered a round of Pirate's Punch (for me) and a $3 Carib (for Hank). We napped, swam, ate, watched monkeys and mongoose, and snorkeled. This was seriously one of my favorite days of our whole trip. We could have stayed there forever, but ran out of cash just in time for our taxi guy who came back to pick us back up.

After a day of drinking on the beach, and a few hours in the hotel lobby looking for other Apple people to trickle in, we finally decided to clean ourselves up and head out for some dinner. Another interesting fact about the island is that many of the stores are owned by Indians, and therefore the island has a significant Indian population. The only thing that really means to me is that there was good food to be found. There just happened to be an Indian restaurant a short walk from the hotel, and it had good reviews online, so we headed to Bombay Blues. Full disclosure- we had been drinking all afternoon, so our judgment might be slightly skewed. But my recollection of the meal was fabulous. I had the Malai Kofta (one of my favorite dishes) and the sauce was flavorful and hearty. Hank had his favorite- Aloo Gobi. It was all reasonably priced, our server was nice, and overall we enjoyed the meal. The restaurant was pretty crowded, so I got the impression that it was a local favorite.

After sleeping it off in the next morning, we decided it would be fun to take a tour of the island before we had to meet the ferry for Nevis. The island is only 18 miles long, so it doesn't take long to make the big circle. Through the hotel, we hired a really nice driver to give us the tour. First stop was a high point overlooking our hotel from the beach.

Below Hank down on the right is where Shipwreck was- the South part of the island.

View of the Marriott (red roofs) on the far right side.

After a little driving and story telling, the driver waited patiently while we toured Brimstone Hill Fortress. It is no a national monument that was originally designed by the British, and built by African slaves. After an extensive preservation effort (that is still ongoing), it is one of the best preserved fortifications in the Americas. You can read more information in the link- but my brief description is that it was breathtaking. We really, really enjoyed walking around viewing the amazing construction and beautiful views of the island from one of the highest points.

We finished the loop around the north side of the island, and got to view where the Atlantic meets the Caribbean, and also black rocks formed by the now dormant volcano on the island. Our tour ended just in time to catch an early ferry to Nevis, where the rest of trip continued. Stay tuned...

The Atlantic is the darker blue water on the left, and the Caribbean is where the lighter water begins.

Volcanic rocks.

Wedding Slideshow

This is the last of the wedding posts, I promise! But I wanted to put together a slideshow of pictures that really told the story of our day. I wish I had the time, energy and knowledge to make it something really cool, but I only had time to throw a bunch of pictures into iPhoto and add a little music. Maybe one day....

We chose the song because our very first date was at a coffee shop. It was Hank's suggestion, and I think the song is perfect!

Weekend Recap

It's getting HOT in Austin, and the only way to cope with it is to a) be in a pool, or b) stay in the cold AC. We did a little of both this weekend, and had a lot of fun in the process.

We kicked off Saturday morning with a miserable, muggy run. 81 degrees and 80% humidity! Not fun, but I did get 4.5 miles under my belt, so at least something good came of it. Finally starting to feel some improvement in my fitness level, and looking forward to making more progress. But you can't do a hard run without treating yourself to something afterwards. So of course we rewarded ourselves with breakfast tacos at Taco Deli at our standing breakfast date with friends Keith and Bonnie.

We followed up breakfast with a family poolside BBQ celebrating Father's Day. We actually lucked out with the weather since it stayed cloudy for most of the day, resulting in a slightly more comfortable temperature. My mom had a great spread with all the necessary accompaniments: BBQ chicken, baked beans, potato salad, fruit salad and cornbread. It was a great meal, followed by plenty of cold beverages and lounging in the pool. My siblings were in town and everyone had fun entertaining Georgia in the pool and just catching up on all our busy lives. There is a family cruise in the works for my mom's 60th birthday next year, and we're all getting excited talking about that too!

Georgia helping her Nonnie open his presents. LOVE her outfit.

Those curls just kill me!

After the party we went to a friend's housewarming party, followed by dinner at a new sports bar/restaurant in our hood. It will be a great place to go to when football season rolls around, but not our favorite place for Saturday date night. We were hungry though, so it worked for that night. 

Sunday morning rolled around along with our favorite part of the weekend- being lazy! Since we always wake up to run on Saturdays, this is our only morning to sleep in. Hank fixed breakfast and coffee, and we watched Moneyball in bed while the animals participated in the laziness. It's like they know that we just need them to chill out for a few hours as well. Of course- this was only after Brees' latest shenanigans, pulling toilet paper from the guest room all the way out into the living room. Got to love that crazy girl.

We finished up our weekend with a delicious Sunday supper with friends Keith and Tony. It was a great excuse to make a meal we wouldn't normally eat on our own, and also a good chance to use some of our fun new dishes. I cooked a chicken dish out of my new Smitten Kitchen cookbook, and made a corn and orzo salad with fresh basil. A cold salad, paired with the chicken and arugula/fennel salad, really made for a perfect combination. Of course, no supper is complete without dessert. I was tempted to make a lemon pie, but Hank talked me into going simple with angel food cake and berries. I whipped up some fresh cream right before serving, and it was a great way to finish the meal, and a super fun weekend!

Friday Fancy: Living Room Inspiration

We are slowly but surely making improvements to our house by bringing in more color and style. We started with the master bedroom, and I love the (almost) finished product. We had one peacock colored wall, and Hank painted the rest of the walls the same color to bring some warmth to a very large room. We added a beautiful tall painting and a tiered etagere, along with neutral bedding from West Elm and mercury glass lamps. The result is a beach-inspired, warm blue retreat. I love it so much, that I want it to set the tone for the rest of the house.

Our next project is to add the same pizazz to our rather plain living room. Hank already made and installed a beautiful European Oak mantle, but the rest of the room is rather....brown. We have a large brown sectional, and that's about it. We're keeping the couch for awhile (it's perfect for having so many pets), so I'm doing my best to work around that and find other ways to add character to the room. We love the clean lines that often come with a modern style, but we like the warmth of the color blue, and the character of some rustic/natural accessories. When my sister asked to describe the look I was going for, the best that I could come up with was Modern Beachy Chic. I want it to look nice, but warm and comfortable. As we start to look for pieces to add, I thought it would be helpful to create a board of inspiration.

1/2/3/4/5/6

My goal is to have the room completed by the end of the year. First we'll line up painting, as we plan to paint the entire main living areas and kitchen (we're blessed with a very open floor plan). I'll be picking up accessories throughout the summer, and will try to save the big purchases (like art and rug) for early fall when I usually get a larger commission check (fingers crossed). Just the addition of fun pillows will have a tremendous effect, and I'm looking forward to hitting Target for the adorable ruffled Threshold pillows shown in the picture above.

What inspiration do you draw from when you make changes in your home? 

Lunch in a Box: His and Hers

If you have followed the Amy in Austin blog for any amount of time, you will know that I love to pack lunch. A little over a year ago I came across the fabulous Easylunchboxes containers, and they became my inspiration for packing healthy lunches. Their original intent was for kids, and you can find blog after blog dedicated to adorable and creative "Bento" style lunches for children of all ages. Kelly Lester (the creator) has done a great job of fostering this community through multiple social media channels.

While I may not have kids, I'm all about having something appealing to eat. I usually pimp out my own lunches on social media in an effort to foster growth around grown-up lunches. But the truth is I often pack lunches for Hank, too. Since we each have different preferences for food, and certainly different needs for calorie consumption, our lunches aren't always the same. I thought it would be fun to compare what I send with him, along with a typical lunch for me. Boys gotta eat too! And since we're both trying to stay on the fit & healthy wagon, it eliminates most opportunities for making bad choices at lunch time.

I recently got a copy of the lovely Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, and was eager to try out a few new recipes. As I flipped through and saw a recipe for Spiced Turkey Meatballs, I knew I had found a winner for Hank. Since I don't eat much meat- he doesn't get to eat much meat. But these were the perfect things to make and pack for him throughout the week, and he loves them! I also made Curried Chicken Salad, along with a Cucumber Dill Cabbage Slaw from Smitten Kitchen, and the Smashed Chickpea Salad that she paired with the meatballs in her book. We had an abundance of food, to say the least.

HIS:

Turkey Meatballs over Smashed Chickpea Salad
2% Cottage Cheese
Grapes
Apple with almond butter (snack)
Veggies with hummus (snack)

HERS:

Tofu lettuce wraps with bell peppers (and a peanut sauce on the side)
Smashed Chickpea Salad
Grapes
Veggies with hummus (snack)


Tips for packing lunches:

*Think ahead. Plan easy dinners with enough to eat the next day. Use leftover meat/tofu to make things like lettuce wraps, use as salad toppings or on a sandwich.
*Choose at least one dish that will keep for the week and will make several lunches (or freeze half for later).
*Cut veggies and fruit for easy access throughout the week.
*Pack lunch the night before, so that running late can't be your excuse.

Mumford & Sons @ COTA

This past Saturday Hank and I attended the Mumford & Sons show at the beautiful Austin 360 Amphitheater at the Circuit of the Americas racetrack. This new facility was finished last fall just in time to host an F1 race. I'm not really into racing, but I do love that they are using this space for a variety of purposes, and bringing some really great events to our already fantastic city. (You can come visit, just don't move here!)

We were lucky enough to win the early ticket lottery that Mumford arranged (in an effort to avoid scalpers getting all the tickets), and purchased them the second I got the email. We felt like little kids waiting for Christmas, and were so excited when the big day finally arrived! Since we live WAY out in West Austin, and the concert is WAY out in East Austin, we knew we had to find a responsible way to get to and from the concert. There were rumors flying around our 'hood that there was an inexpensive shuttle that made trips downtown. Hank did a little google searching, and sure enough he found Responsible Ride.  A quick call confirmed that they were shuttling to the concert for $15 round trip, per person. Uh, hello?! $30 to safely get to a concert that is at least 40 minutes from our house? Sign us up. We met the van (and our fellow concert go-ers) and then this happened:

About an hour later, we rolled up right to the front of the amphitheater, checked in with our credit card, and went to get ourselves some ridiculously overpriced tacos and beer before finding our spots. Not gonna lie- my one and only complaint was how expensive food and drinks were. $11 for two piddly tacos (filled with corn and black beans) and $10 "specialty" beers. But...small price to pay for an otherwise stellar concert experience. The place is beautiful, the people were really nice and it's just a really well put together venue. Wish I had taken more pictures, but I was too excited to just be there.

When I bought the tickets, I didn't realized that I had purchased them for the pit. I wasn't in the mood to stand with a bunch of people though, so we initially found a spot on the lawn and got comfy. Knowing I would never find my way back in the dark after a bathroom visit, I decided to go before the band started. While up, I got a good view of the pit and realized that we really should take advantage of it while we could, and told Hank I was willing to move down there (he really wanted to from the start). I'm so glad we did, because we got pretty close to the stage, and stood around a fun group of people. It made the concert that much better being so close! Not sure how long the band played, but they performed all of my favorite songs, and closed it out with a stellar encore that included a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm On Fire". (Video at bottom of post if you don't mind poor quality- just give it a few minutes and you can hear them.)

It took forever to make our way out of the venue and get home, but neither of us were driving so we really didn't care. I fell asleep on the bus and probably missed a lot of fun with our new friends, but at least we made it home safely. So glad to know we have the option of a really inexpensive van to get us where we want to go for a fun night out!

Sad to hear that the bassist for the ban was hospitalized after the Austin shows due to a blood clot, and is hopefully recovering from surgery by now. They cancelled the remainder of their Texas shows, and I hope he gets to feeling better soon. He performed like a true rock star, and I can't believe he was feeling so badly while putting on such a great show. If you ever have the chance to see them- it's well worth any amount you pay. They are truly fantastic live!

Wedding Series: The After-Party

When we initially picked the date for our wedding, we had no idea that it fell on Kentucky Derby Day. And since we planned a brunch reception, we wanted to be able to spend a little extra time with our family and friends who had traveled a long distance to celebrate with us. So it worked at perfectly that after the reception, we were able to walk across the street to the W Austin. We lucked out by getting almost an entire room to ourselves and toasted with drinks and watched the Derby for the rest of the afternoon. We ended up staying for about 3 hours before we finally called it a day and headed to our hotel. It was such a great extension of an already perfect day, and we had so much fun just kicking back with our friends. We suggested the idea of ladies wearing fascinators, and I know we must have looked like an interesting bunch to the other guests surrounding us. But it made the day even that much better, if that was at all possible.

After our post-wedding fun, Hank and I headed a few blocks away to the Hotel San Jose on South Congress. We ordered a pizza from Home Slice, put our feet up and relaxed on the balcony of our beautiful hotel room. We ended our wedding weekend with breakfast tacos and a relaxing morning enjoying our room before heading home to start the rest of our lives.