Cortneybre…My First Blogging Anniversary!

Thsnk you

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…

Vacation Details….on 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.

Hey mon!  This was as fashionable as I got on vacation!  Total relaxation!
Hey mon! This was as fashionable as I got on vacation! Total relaxation!

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!

Labadee, Haiti 2
Labadee, Haiti

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!

Labadee, Haiti 4
Labadee, Haiti

2nd Excursion: Falmouth, Jamaica

Yeah Mon…this was my FAVE stop! Oh the beauties of Jamaica!

Falmouth, Jamaica
Falmouth, 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”!

Falmouth, Jamaica
Falmouth, Jamaica – My daughter screaming I’m free as she runs down the beach at Bamboo Beach Club!

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.

Welcome to Tulum!

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!

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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…

The Very Inspiring Blogger Award!

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:

  1.  A BIG “thank you” to one that nominated you, and link to his or her blog (again, thanks Wilmke at W In Wonderland!)

     2.  Share 7 facts about yourself with your followers.

My Facts…

Hmmmm….let’s see…here we go!

  • I’ve always been a fashion lover! The only two times (yes, 2…I was a really well behaved kid!) I got in *real* trouble when I was a small child was when I literally fell in the floor with a temper tantrum over 1) a pair of pink cowboy boots and 2) a pair of red patent leather shoes.
  • I’m a natural redhead but have sported purple highlights. If I worked in a business setting that allowed less conservative hair-colors, I’d definitely have lavender or light pink highlights now.
  • I’m obsessed with Kate Spade and my dream job would be to work for the company as a merchandiser or designer.
  • I’m originally from Georgia but moved around the country quite a bit after college before returning home to the Peach state.
  • I love heels and wear them every day. I can run in heels if the situation arises. I think sneakers (or tennis shoes as we say in the South) are for working out ONLY. <I’m not digging the designer tennis shoe trend!>
  • Cortney is my first name and Bre my middle name. I’ve never used my middle name until I started this blog. Now people refer to me as Cortneybre and I like to think of it as my blogger superhero name.
  • Hairstyling is not my forte. Most of my posts feature me with my ponytail. I prefer my hair long but wear it up most of the time. I’m amazed at the talented bloggers and their hairstyling techniques!

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!

The Fashion Huntress

Sweet Candy Dreamer                     

The Silberez Life 

Little Book of Fashion 

What We Wear    

LifeStyle Finesse

 Wilfully Elegant                                              

My Real Pretend Blog                     

 Fat Free Fashion                                     

Style. The Universe. Everything.

True Colors Within.                  

Blush and Blonde                                                                                        

A Style Diary                                                 

Fashion Sky Fall                                  

Baubles to Bubbles 

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!  xoxo…Cortneybre…

I’m Afraid of Normcore. You Should Be Too.

Image: Elitedaily.com
Image: Elitedaily.com

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?

Image: Elitedaily.com
Image: Elitedaily.com

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!?

Jerry Seinfeld - Normcore Coolness Image Courtesy of: Ghetty Images via ElleCanada.com
Jerry Seinfeld – Normcore Coolness
Image Courtesy of: Ghetty Images via ElleCanada.com

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…

© Cortneybre and http://Cortneybre.com, 2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Cortneybre and http://cortneybre.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.