weeklong festivities... {and a trip to the beach}

So normally I would do a "weekend festivities" post and update you on all of the fabulous things I did over the weekend... But I've been gone for 8 days... and my "weekend" festivities post has turned into more of a "weeklong" festivities post. The past 8 days were a mix of business and pleasure... office and beach... paperwork and paperback... skyline and seaside... you get the picture. It was a busy, fun-filled 8 days...

I flew out to Atlanta last Sunday afternoon... I made sure to pick up a copy of The Hunger Games at the airport. I saw the movie a few weeks ago, but after reading Lindsey's review on the book vs. the movie, I knew I needed to go ahead and read the book. I'm about half way through and Lindsey was right... the book is so much better:)

Monday through Thursday pretty much looked like this. Long days at the office... usually 8:00am - 7:00pm. Fun times.

This is usually what my evenings consist of when I'm traveling for work... some awesome reality TV and dinner on the bed... Chipotle, of course.

I love the Atlanta skyline... traffic... not-so-much. On Thursday I left the office right at 5:00pm and headed straight to the Atlanta airport to pick up my mom! She flew in from Houston to meet up with me so we could drive to Florida together!

We checked into our super-sketchy-small-town-hotel. (after we accidentally tried to check into the Super 8 first... although, we think the Super 8 might have actually been a better choice...) We got settled in and unpacked our bags for our 4 night stay in Marianna, FL. We have important things planned for Florida:)

The most important (and main purpose of our trip) was to watch one of my very very best friends tie the knot. She.was.stunning. The entire wedding was absolutely beautiful and I was completely honored to be able to capture it all on camera for her. (full sneak peek post coming soon... promise)

I was also pretty excited to be able to pop open my first Dr. Pepper since Ash Wednesday. It tasted just as amazing as I remembered:) Back in February I decided to give up soda for the Lenten season... and I went 45 whole flippin' days without a soda... well, with the exception of one cream soda that I drank completely by accident... swear. I will probably try to slow down on my soda intake... now that I know I can survive... but let's not get crazy people... sometimes you just need a DP.

The awesome thing about spending Easter with your mom is that the Easter bunny is much more likely to visit you... and drop off a super cute beach bag filled with all kinds of goodies:) Perfect for our beach day!

On Sunday, my mom and I woke up bright and early... we packed up our beach towels and bathing suits and made the hour and a half drive to Seaside, FL. Not without first stopping for a hearty Waffle House breakfast though:)

We got to Seaside and immediately claimed our spot on the beach. This is the day I have been looking forward to for a month now... It.was.perfect. Everything I imagined. I realized that I hadn't been to the beach in like 6 years... that, my friends, is just unacceptable.

It was spectacular. The weather was a perfect 80 degrees. The waves practically put you to sleep. The sand was incredibly soft and the beach wasn't too crowded.

But you know, all that laying out on the beach can get exhausting... so we took a snowcone break. Actually, my mom just got an iced tea... but I wasn't leaving Seaside until I had a snowcone... with cream of course.

By early afternoon we were starting to feel the effects of the sun (aka, my feet were fried... apparently I didn't extend the sunscreen all the way down to my feet, oops). So we packed up our beach bags and walked around Seaside for a bit... there are so many great shops and restaurants there.

By late afternoon we were both starving... and lucky for us, we were just in time for happy hour at Great Southern Cafe. Hence, the yummy pineapple mojito...

After we inhaled our dinner, we decided to splurge and share a white chocolate bread pudding dessert. It was delicious... and HUGE. Totally worth it though. With super full stomachs, we finally decided to make the drive back to our hotel in Marianna. I could not have asked for a better Easter Sunday. I had such a great time with my mama... it's not too often that we get to hang out just the 2 of us and we enjoyed 4 full days together.

Before I knew it, my 8 day whirlwind trip was coming to a close. My mom and I made the drive back to the Atlanta airport and we both headed to our separate terminals. It was a fabulous trip... from the office, to the wedding, to the beach... but none-the-less... I'm always ready to get home to see my hubby!

And Lance... being the incredibly sweet husband that he is... greeted me home with flowers and a very clean home. He's the best. Oh, and Little Cat was pumped that I was home too... can't you tell?