It is no secret around these parts that my favorite time of year is fall. Mainly because I HATE to be hot. So what the hell am I doing in the south you ask? Well, even though most days are unbearable with humidity at 6,5875,641%, you can’t help but love summer. There are just so many things to do!

Here are my favorite things about summer!

1. Summer dresses – They are so easy and comfy! Just pull one over your head, pair with some cute shoes and maybe a necklace…grab your sunglasses and you are out the door! Plus, no pants!

2. Flip flops! – Flip flops are my favorite shoes ever. I really wish these were a thing all year. How can you not love them?!

3. Going to the beach! – We try to make at least one trip down to the gulf every summer. When we are lucky…we go more! With tons of beaches just 4-5 hours away from here, you can’t not go!

4. Outside patios – I love being able to sit outside at restaurants and bars. Beers seem colder and food just tastes better!

5. Outdoor events and concerts – I love the impromptu fair wheels, carnivals, brewfests, and outdoor concerts and festivals. There are always plenty of these going around!

6. Summer colors – I love bright colors, and bright colors just scream summer!

7. Music – Fun music always comes out for the summer! I posted the top summer songs for the last 25 years here.

8.  Grilling Out – There aren’t very many things I like better than grilled out food! Steaks, burgers, hot dogs, ribs, corn….yes please!!!!!

9. Sales! – With Memorial Day, 4th of July, back to school and Labor Day…you can score some really great deals all summer long!

10. Laid back, casual days – There are no major holidays in the summer that take weeks of preparation, most people take vacations during this time, and everyone seems to have a more laid back and casual attitude. You want to sit out on a patio and drink all day? No judgement. Lounge at the pool? Cool beans. Binge watch a TV show? By all means!

What are your favorite things about summer?

— It was really hard to get back into working out after having a few days off. I had full intentions of getting a good work out in yesterday when I had off, but it didn’t happen. Goes to show you that if I don’t wake up and do it FIRST thing in the morning, it won’t get done!

–My redneck neighbors are still setting fireworks off as of last night and I sort of just want to shove one up their ass. The 4th is over, please STOP! They aren’t even pretty ones, just the noisy as fuck ones.

— I might be the whitest person ever. When I was at the beach, I had to wear SPF 110 on my face and SPF 50 on my body. I also have to be sure to reapply every 80 minutes like the bottle says or I come in looking like a lobster. Gotta love the Irish skin!

— When I signed in to Bloglovin’ Tuesday morning, I saw that I had 396 unread posts. Maybe I hit “mark all as read” and moved on with my life. That shit was out of control!

— I am addicted to the Stephanie Plum series. I just finished another off yesterday afternoon and will be moving on to book six. I can’t be stopped!

Confessions in ecards:

Some days I really just want to call in like this:

Go link up with Kathy and spill all your secrets!

Oh hey there, blog land. I signed in to Bloglovin’ this morning and had 396 unread posts. Ummm no. Just no. I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday weekend! I know I did!

Thursday afternoon we headed down to Gulf Shores after Chris got off work. We stopped by the grocery store on the way in and were able to squeeze in some pool and hot tub time too!

Friday and Saturday basically look the same. We spent some time down on the beach, listening to the ocean crash in. The ocean was the calmest I have ever seen it. Hardly any waves at all! And the water was so clear. Almost too clear, I could see all the little fishes and everything! I even saw a few baby jelly fish.

We also spent some time at the pool. There are several pools at the condo, our favorite has a seating area in the middle so that you can just chill in the water. So relaxing.

Sunday Chris and I were going to head home but decided to head over to Pensacola. We had visited the downtown area one weekend a few years ago to see a friend DJ there, and really liked what we saw and we figured we should explore some!

We stopped at Surf Burger for lunch after checking into our hotel. The food was delicious…and the view….the view was amazing!!!!

This was the bathroom door at Surf Burger. I thought it was really fun.

After lunch, we walked around Pensacola Beach and a few of the shops there. We also stopped by a fun bar that was there that had some good music going.

We then headed to the downtown area. I just love how pretty the streets and buildings are there!

Driving down the main strip what did we find???

A World of Beer!!!! We knew we had to stop! I was excited that their draft list was completely different than our Birmingham one. I ordered an Ace Pineapple Cider and it was amazing!!!!!

We hung out there for a few hours and made some new friends. While this locations menu for food was not as extensive as our home one….I still managed to find something yummy to try! I had the Tavern Taters. They were tater tots with beer cheese, bacon bits, jalapenos, scallions and sour cream.

After WOB, we headed back to the hotel and hung out at the pool and hot tub for a little while. We then sat at their outdoor fire pit for awhile and just relaxed. It was a great day!

Monday we headed home. We stopped at the Steak n Shake in Prattville on the way because that is a must when you are on the way back from the beach!

I finished up the 4th book in the Stephanie Plum series, and am over half way done with the 5th one now. I really like these books and I am surprised that I am continuing along! I have a feeling I will probably end up reading all 21 of them!

When we originally planned our  beach trip, we were planning on coming home on Tuesday, so I had requested off today. I decided to stay home to do laundry, work out, clean, catch up on some blogging stuff, and get some stuff done on my to do list around the house. Sometimes you just need a vacation from your vacation, you know?!

The dogs are super happy that we are back, and I think even Olivia missed us. I am thinking maybe she didn’t get a ton of sleep while we were gone because she was exhausted last night. Also, she grew a bunch in the last few days. Stop growing up Livy!!!!

It is Friday people!!! And not only is it Friday, but it is the 4th of July! Let’s all take a moment and bask in the fact that we live in a free country. Well, sort of. These days I feel more and more freedoms and amendments to the constitution are taken away from us, but let’s keep it positive around here!

I am blogging my Friday favorites as I watch the Gulf of Mexico crash into the white sand beaches. There is no scene better my friends!  Let’s get to it, shall we?!

Favorite Song: Thong Song – Sisqo – This song just reminds me of the beach for some reason and so here you go!

Favorite Moment: Hanging out with my mom and Casi in Atlanta this week. Casi lives in the Pittsburgh area and I don’t get to see her often. We went to the Georgia Aquarium, Atlantic Station and Ikea. We also ate at two of my favorite restaurants: Meehan’s and Taco Mac.

Favorite Food Product: JIF Whips – You guys have to try this shit. YOU HAVE TO. It is like a melted Reese cup in a whipped texture. I can’t even….

Favorite Purchase: When I was at Atlantic Station, Loft had a lot of their dresses for $25! They also had their necklaces for $20. I have been coveting a necklace of theirs for EVER and I finally took the plunge, along with two dresses. One of which my mommy bought me as part of my early birthday present, Because my mom is the best mom on the planet and spoils me like a little princess still 🙂

Favorite Olivia Pictures:

Favorite Funnies:

I hope everyone has a great weekend!!!! Go wish Amanda a Happy 30th Birthday!!! I am so glad another one is entering the 30 and up club. All you 20 something bitches make me feel old!

–I have a really hard time dropping my dogs off to get boarded. The people there are great, and they always give me a full report on how the dogs did…that isn’t the problem. The problem is the way the dogs act when I drop them off. Gracie always wraps her paws around my legs and clings to me like I am sending her off forever. She gives me the saddest most hurtful puppy eyes you ever did see. The girls always have to come and pull her off of me and drag her away. She cries and keeps looking back to keep my eye contact the entire time. And Mac? That asshole could care less. “Ohhhh there is a new girl…she is taking me for a walk?! Awesome! Peace out bro!” I am not sure which one hurts my heart worse?! I ALWAYS walk back to my car sobbing hysterically.

–I was way too excited about this bag of chips that Casi brought me from Pittsburgh. They are my absolute favorite and you can not find them down south. Chris even said these are better than anything he has ever had. We will totally eat this entire bag on our beach trip with NO SHAME.

–I didn’t get in last night from our Atlanta excursion until almost 11:30pm. Putting me to bed around midnight on a “school night.” I am probably going to pay for that…

— Are you a member of your neighborhood or “city happening” page on Facebook? Have you ever noticed that people are nosy as fuck?!?! Like seriously!!!! It is one thing to maybe say “Hey there is an accident on Hwy 11, try to avoid the area” or something like that. But I have been seeing more and more people saying things like “There is an ambulance at the house that I just drove by on Main Street. What is going on?” IT IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!!!

–To stick with the same subject, when someone is giving away a pet on Facebook and they say something like “We took in this stray lab mix but he doesn’t get along with my current dogs and cats, I really don’t want to take him to the shelter because he is really sweet, would anyone like to adopt him?” Don’t freaking post about how awful this person is for trying to give the dog away. Some pets just wont work together. At least he took the dog off the street and is trying to do the right thing. If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all!!!!

–I started like hyperventilating about work last night towards the end of the day because I know that I have SO MUCH to do at work before I can leave that I am not quite sure how I am going to un-bury myself.

–I am going to be a bit behind on blog readings this week and I am terribly sorry! I will eventually circle back around. My life needs to calm it’s tits this week! So much to do, so little time!

Confessions in ecards:

No words could be truer:

I freaking HATE spiders:

How I feel most days. I feel your pain Cookie Monster: