It’s my 1st Year Blogging Anniversary and I couldn’t be more excited!
Thank you so much for your support and feedback.
You have inspired and uplifted me more than you will ever know!
Take a look at my “looks” from the past year! Xoxo…Cortneybre…
It’s my 1st Year Blogging Anniversary and I couldn’t be more excited!
Thank you so much for your support and feedback.
You have inspired and uplifted me more than you will ever know!
Take a look at my “looks” from the past year! Xoxo…Cortneybre…
Hello friends! I’ve returned from vacation and I’m happy to be back in the blogging world! We had a fabulous time on vacation and I did want to share just a little about our travels!
But first…a disclaimer….*Once I unplugged, I decided to take a vacation from blogging too and didn’t take any outfit pictures during vacation that will be featured on the blog. Let’s just say my plans to look fabulous and coordinated every day while traveling foreign countries and living out of my suitcase didn’t work out. More importantly, I wanted to live in the moment and enjoy my time away so I actually didn’t photograph a lot period.
Now to share some of the highlights!
My family and I took a Western Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean’s ship, Oasis of the Seas. Although, we’ve decided we prefer Disney Cruise Lines to Royal Caribbean, we had a great time and the excursions were fabulous!
1st Stop: Labadee, Haiti
Royal Caribbean actually leases the port of Labadee from Haiti and it serves as the ship’s private resort area. Once docked, we were there for the day and it was absolutely beautiful! Lush foliage, spectacular mountains and glittering blue waters welcomed us to this port. We lounged beachside, swam (even though you had to be mindful of unfriendly jellyfish) and enjoyed the beautiful beach area!
2nd Excursion: Falmouth, Jamaica
Yeah Mon…this was my FAVE stop! Oh the beauties of Jamaica!
Our excursion was wonderful. We were whisked away to a private beach area known as the Bamboo Beach Club. The tour groups were small and our tour guides were fantastic! During our journey to the Beach Club, they regaled us with historical facts about the area and taught us a little of the dialect. We quickly learned that in Jamaica, “there are no problems, only situations”!
After arriving at the Beach Club we were immediately provided refreshments, including beer, wine, and lots of rum! (if I never drink any more rum it will be too soon….Let’s say I almost over indulged). The beach…was heaven. No crowds, no distractions…just warm sand and warm water lapping at the shore to a reggae beat. Truly paradise! Check out the Bamboo Beach Club Jamaica!
Final Excursion: Tulum, Mexico
I just love Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. It’s such an interesting and beautiful area and unrivaled in beauty and history. I’m a major archaeology buff and an excursion to Tulum was a must for me! The ship offered excursions to Chichen itza (a larger temple site) also but I’d actually visited a few years ago and opted for the smaller ruins of Tulum instead.
After taking a VERY rocky tender from the ship, we boarded a bus for Tulum. The archaeological ruins of Tulum sit directly on the ocean and there is a beautiful and picturesque beach area that is offered as part of your park ticket. T
The ruins are fascinating and I happily wandered about, snapping pictures and examining the site. I’ve studied the Toltec and Mayan people quite a bit so this was quite the treat for me.
I will say I was a teensy bit disappointed that we didn’t swim at the beaches of the archaeological ruins.
However, we did travel to a wonderful beachside resort located in the city of Tulum called Azulik. Yet another picturesque and beautiful beachside rendezvous! There we were served lunch and lounged by the ocean on the powdery white sands of the Gulf of Mexico.
This resort was GORGEOUS! Very laid back and very natural. If not for the rocky tender ride back to the ship and having to transfer buses mid-trip due to a mechanical issue, I would have voted this my fave spot!
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my little travel review! I can’t wait to get back to sharing my Outfit of the Day and will post a new outfit tomorrow! I’m also so happy to post some of the blogger awards I’ve recently received and I’ll post those over the next two weeks! What a lucky girl am I!
Cheers! Xoxo…Cortneybre…
I’m so excited to be nominated for my first blogger award!
Many thanks to Wilmke at W In Wonderland for nominating me. It means so much! Check out her beautiful blog at http://winwonderland.wordpress.com/!
The Rules…
Part of receiving the award is to keep paying the love forward with the following rules:
2. Share 7 facts about yourself with your followers.
My Facts…
Hmmmm….let’s see…here we go!
Recognition of Others…Sharing the love…
Nominate 15 other bloggers
I nominate the fifteen bloggers listed below! Honestly, there are so many talented bloggers that I greatly admire that it was hard to limit my list to 15. These are just a few of my faves!
Style. The Universe. Everything.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!! xoxo…Cortneybre…
Normcore, Normcore, NORMCORE (said in an exasperated voice). This trend keeps popping up on my fashion radar despite the fact that I try to avoid it as much as possible.
At first I did just avoid it but then I thought I should at least research the trend a bit to ensure I wasn’t missing out on some pivotal moment in the fashion fabric of time. So..I found THE article which seemed to spawn or at least identify the trend. Click here to read it.
The article was published February 24th, 2014 in New York Magazine and I must say it’s very informative (very depressing but very informative). It gives the entire explanation of this anti-fashion trend that is…fashion?
In just a few words, I will summarize it though – think “sameness” is cool, a look of “nothing” is now and being “ordinary” is in. Oh…and this all seems to be taking place circa 1992.
Give me some examples of normcore, you demand?!
Well…how about…Steve Jobs! And I’m not referring to his brilliance or motivational presentation skills. I’m referring to his mom jeans and black turtlenecks.
Or how about Jerry Seinfeld? High-waisted jeans with sneakers anyone? Yes, these are examples of this trend, and we are to embrace the normalcy of it!?
To me, this is the threatening of individuality. It may sound vain – and perhaps that is the point – but my clothing and outer appearance have been my form of self-expression since I was 2 years old.
What’s so great about being normal? What is normal? Who determines it?
Jerry Seinfeld and Steve Jobs?
What if my normal is polka-dotted blouses and pink skirts? Who wants to fit in?
Oh and I lived thru the 1990’s, watched waaay too much My So Called Life and was a teen during that time (yeah, I know I’m revealing a lot here). Let’s just say I didn’t keep any of my “cool” 1990’s fashion in case it comes back in style.
I’ll get off my soapbox now. These types of trends and ideas scare me a bit though. Just as I was a terrified student fearing the day I would be forced to wear a uniform, I am now a little afraid of this push towards normalcy.
However, I comfort myself with the knowledge that beauty, individuality and uniqueness – have and always will exist and dominate the fashion world.
If you’re interested, here is a great article about normcore. Check out this Vanity Fair article here.
Now let me go find something to wear tomorrow…Cortneybre…
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