Oh Christmas Tree...4

Stopped by
Roger's Christmas House Village
in Brooksville, FL today...

snapped some pics of the beautiful trees displayed. Thought I'd share them with you.
Hope they inspire some Holiday Decorating,it can be a little hard to get into the spirit when you're in
sunny Florida...

Thanks for stopping by...may your holidays be
Merry & Bright!

Oh Christmas Tree...3

Stopped by
Roger's Christmas House Village
in Brooksville, FL today...

snapped some pics of the beautiful trees displayed. Thought I'd share them with you.
Hope they inspire some Holiday Decorating,it can be a little hard to get into the spirit when you're in
sunny Florida...

Thanks for stopping by...may your holidays be
Merry & Bright!

Check back soon for the next tree!

Oh Christmas Tree...2

Stopped by
Roger's Christmas House Village
in Brooksville, FL today...

snapped some pics of the beautiful trees displayed. Thought I'd share them with you.
Hope they inspire some Holiday Decorating,
it can be a little hard to get into the spirit when you're in
sunny Florida...





Thanks for stopping by...may your holidays be
Merry & Bright!

Check back soon for the next tree!

Oh Christmas Tree...1

Stopped by
Roger's Christmas House Village
in Brooksville, FL today...

snapped some pics of the beautiful trees displayed. Thought I'd share them with you.
Hope they inspire some Holiday Decorating,
it can be a little hard to get into the spirit when you're in
sunny Florida...





Thanks for stopping by...may your holidays be
Merry & Bright!

Check back soon for the next tree!

Oh, just another Florida sunset pic...

but this time in beautiful

Key West

A Girl's Weekend in South Beach...

Sometimes a girl's just gotta have FUN!

Breakfast at the Cardozo Hotel...

Ocean Drive

Miami Beach...just look at the color of the water...


I love having all this just a
few hours drive away from me!

How I recharge my Mom batteries...

Cell Pic of

Indian Rocks Beach



Apparently this mom runs on solar energy!

Only in Florida...

So I'm heading for home after a late night breakfast with my best girlfriend after dancing the night away to 80's dance music at "groove"...and what do I happen to spy while driving down the road?

A giant Lobster.

Yup. HUGE.

Lobzilla.

on wheels!


Okay, so it's a VW bug draped with a giant lobster which belongs to Boston Lobster Feast, in Orlando, FL.

This was waaaaay funnier at the time!

My favorite Florida bug...

My Love Bug!

We celebrated her 17th Birthday yesterday...

but no matter how old she is, she'll always be my

Baby Girl!

Roots...

Today we spent the afternoon at the Portuguese American Cultural Association enjoying yummy food, and watching several Portuguese Folklore groups perform.

The PACA group just so happens to include a very special little dancer...

my beautiful niece Li!

What a great way to keep our family rooted with our origins!

My favorite WaveRunners...

T, Li & Mi

Clearwater Beach, FL

Maybe they're more like WaveJumpers.

Click here to search for your home in Spring Hill, FL.

Titanic - The Experience, Orlando, FL

We took the kids over to the

Titanic - The Experience

in Orlando, FL...

The guide did a great job...entertaining us while educating us.

The reproduction of the staircase is absolutely stunning...

they really put in every detail.

The girls learned a lot about the tragedy. We were all given tickets with a passengers name at the beginning. When the tour was done we learned the fate of our passenger. My 7 year old had a 7 year old's name...and the little girl tragically did not make it. My 17 year old had an 18 year old girls name, and we were happy to learn that she did. Really made it very real to us all. Worth the short trip over from Spring Hill, Florida for sure!

Summer Fun!

Have lots of fun all day at Universal Studios...

two of my most favorite girls

then drive home and sleep in my own bed at night!

I love living in Spring Hill, Florida. Just a couple hours ride away from all the major theme parks...but far enough away that we don't pay tourist prices!

The Girls are back in town!

My New England Nieces are back down in Spring Hill, FL, for their annual summer visit, and I couldn't be happier! Well...there is one person who's even happier than me...not so much a person...but a certain chocolate brown Poodle:

I think the feeling is mutual.

Hope your summer is off to a great start, too!

Sometimes it's in the details...

Decorative carvings around the entry to a church in Clearwater, FL:

Wonder what it might cost to do this around the entryway of our home...

a girl can dream.

Happy Birthday Josh Hanoud!

Happy 30th Birthday!

Thank you for everything you do for us!

Enjoy your day! And your cake!

We LOVE you!!!

The 4 Hour Mini-Vacation...

As some of you might know, Josh and I run HernandoLuxuryHomes.com, and Josh is a Real Estate agent.  This tends to keep him VERY busy.  Much too busy to take an actual vacation very often.  Luckily, we've got the beautiful Clearwater Beach just a quick ride south of Spring Hill.  We stole away a few hours, and recharged our batteries...together...it was great!

Clearwater Beach, a Marina, and condos with a fantastic view beyond.

Side view of Pier 60, Cleawater Beach, FL...at night this pier comes alive with vendors and street performers.  It's an experience in and of itself.

Right out of the Gulf of Mexico, and over to Jimmy's waterside restaurant...

where we listened to reggae, enjoyed the view, and I sipped on a yummy tropical concoction or two.  Batteries are full...and we're right back at it!

How do you get away, when you can't have an actual get-away?

A litte QT w/ the surf & sun - Clearwater Beach, FL...

My adorable nieces - 3 of them! - are down visiting us in Spring Hill for their April vacations.  It has been wonderful spending time with them.  Great kids who I greatly miss through out most of the year.

This has given me an opportunity to spend a little time at one of the main reasons I moved down here:

the beach.

I'll miss them when they fly back up.

Have you had a bit of a spring break yet?

Did you spend any of it doing something you love?

Proud Mom Post...

This weekend my talented daughter, along with the F.W. Springstead Marching Eagle Brigade, marched down Main St. and through the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, FL.

A beautiful welcome...

Celebrate Today!

When they say Magic Kingdom, they mean it!

Here is the vid. of my daughter & the band marching down Main St.:

F.W. Springstead H.S. - Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World - 04/19

Disney was filled with a little extra magic this weekend.

Thanks for sharing my proud Mom moment with me!

Happy Easter!

from my family to yours!

Maybe I should change my blog's name?

FL Chocolate Blog, perhaps?

It seems to be a theme around here lately.

Maybe it has something to do with the diet I'm on.

I picked up a super easy, everything included, chocolate lollipop kit at Joanne's and the kids had a blast making them over at their grandparents' house.

I wasn't expecting pink and yellow chocolate to taste quite as heavenly as it did.

 

(pssst...how cute is that apron?  I got it on Etsy.)

Did you notice I said did?  They sure were delicious.

If you're looking for something different and fun (and super chocolatey) to do with the munchkins, this is it!

Confessions...

I recently posted a light hearted post about our quick trip down to Tarpon Springs.  I posted photos of pretty shells,  a boat, and wrote about what a wonderful day we had.

Well, the thing is...that's not all we did.  There's something that's been eating away at me.  Something I didn't want to share.  Hmmm...funny choice of words there.  I'm just going to come right out and confess to something...naughty...and dark...

Dark Chocolate.

And lots of it.

We stopped at Hella's for some of the most delicious, 

and super naughty desserts known to mankind.  

I feel better now that I've 'fessed up.  

Any sinfully yummy confessions of your own?

Tarpon Springs, FL

This past Sunday we took a short road trip down from Spring Hill to Tarpon Springs, FL. It had been far too long since I'd enjoyed some delicious Greek food, and the weather was just perfect for a stroll down Docadenese Drive, also known as The Sponge Docks.

 

 

 

 

I have to admit, this beautiful pink-washed building had me dreaming of buying it and running my own special little shop.  What a wonderful way to make a living.  

Surrounded by the smells of Greek delicacies, hand rolled cigars, the salty smell of the water, and the cheery relaxed faces of both vacationers and locals picking out their favorite shells, hand made soaps, and sponges to bring back home.  How does that sound to you?