So this really is “Words of the Past 2 Weeks” – full of a vacation recap & look at the upcoming week… No judging the quality of photos! I left my camera behind for our vacation and captured it all with my iPhone :)

I love the beach. I mean, I really love the beach. I don’t know how to explain it – I just feel completely at peace when I’m laying in the warm sun & listening to the sound of the waves and fellow beach goers. Time seems irrelevant, and the only thing on my to-do list is to make sure I flip from my stomach to my back ever so often to keep the tan even. Some of the best naps of my life have been on a beach… it really is just my happy place.

So why am I talking about the beach in the February? Well Corey & I were lucky enough to be able to spend some time last week in Sarasota, Florida with my brother and his girlfriend, who live there. I had never vacationed to a warm place during the winter, and I absolutely loved it. I was lying on one of the top rated beaches in the world, Siesta Key Beach, while snow was falling back in New England. The Sarasota area has so many great restaurants & shops, and boy did that sunshine feel good. I had one of the best meals of my life at an open-air restaurant called Shore. Corn Chowder with Maryland Crab… my mouth is watering just thinking about it. If you’re ever in the area, don’t miss that. 

During our trip, We also got to venture over to Miami for a night to go to a Heat basketball game. We scored an amazing corner view hotel room that had floor-to-ceiling windows all around, got to stroll on South Beach, and got drinks & apps on Ocean Drive before the game. We managed to get great seats at the Heat game, and Corey was in heaven watching LeBron play at his home turf. Miami was definitely fun to visit for the night, but we were definitely glad to head back to the quieter city of Sarasota. Corey & I discovered one of our favorite drinks of all time, The Patriot Missile, at a beach bar called the Daiquiri Deck. It’s frozen & fruity & delicious. Yummm! I think we have a soft spot for fruity drinks ever since our honeymoon to Hawaii.

Then came the time to leave… we dreaded going back to the cold and I’ve been missing the warm sun ever since. A big thanks to Duncan & Lauren for hosting us!

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A few random thoughts…

1. My favorite new age beach activity: Pinning. I also had a good book, Divergent, with me at the beach but I also found that I could browse Pinterest completely GUILT FREE while I was laying on the beach. I absolutely love Pinterest but normally Pinterest tends to be a time suck for me. Something that I do while I should be doing something else (you all know how it goes). But at the beach, with no other responsibilities, I just pinned away and soaked up the sun. Win-win. (If you’re not already, follow me on Pinterest HERE)

2. It’s always those hazy days at the beach that get ya with the worst sunburns. 2 sunny, hot days on Siesta Key Beach = little tan. 1 hazy, chilly day on the beach = sunburn. Ouch.

3. I was SO thrilled when I received an email saying that one of my photos that I submitted to the Shoot & Share Photo Contest made it to the finals in the Wedding Party category! I absolutely love this photo from Josh & Danielle’s wedding, and I really enjoyed the Shoot & Share Photo Contest in general… it just seemed like the most fair photo competition I’ve ever seen. Everyone who votes is judging 4 random photos against each other, and you can’t stack votes up on your own photos because the photos appear at random. It really made me think about what it is that draws me to photos and why I was voting for the photos that I picked. For me, it tends to be about capturing connection & expression. A close-up of a couple completely lost in their love for each other almost always beats out a gorgeous landscape with a couple in it for me. But the beauty of the contest is that I know there are lots of photographers out there who feel the complete opposite of me! There are SO many amazing photographers out there – congratulations on all the beautiful images submitted. I can’t wait to see the winners!

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Before I left for vacation, I got to capture 2 sweet little ones! The first session was Joseph’s newborn session with his sweet family, and the second was Cecilia’s 9 month session (and we got some with her mom too!). Here are previews from the two sessions, but these two cuties will be hitting the blog this week!