Jamaica, Mon.

Hi!

We just got back from Jamaica Tuesday night.  I had an excellent time, but am so glad to be home!  Once I start missing washing the dishes, I know I'm ready to get back to reality :). 

To be honest, I went into this vacation with one agenda:  to relieve my mind.  I have to say friends, I succeeded.  Every morning, I went to the beach alone, armed with my trusty "Become Who You Are" book and ready to make some mental headway.  I find that working on yourself gets so stagnant when you run out of ways to put it to practice.  I stared into the sky, listened to beach singers, and pondered my life, but most of all I practiced just relishing in the moment.  I found that I could easily clear the cobwebs on old, negative, dusty thoughts and let the sunshine burn them away.  I was also reminded that I really do thrive in tropical weather.  Something about my make up really does feel 100 times more clear and happy in the heat.  I just feel so much more healthy- mentally & physically. 

With that being said, I left the island feeling renewed.  I feel more confident in who I am, the path that I'm on, my love for my Jimmy, my Mother & friends (old and new), and just generally thankful for having life. 

On a lighter note :), check out my new bathing suit up there!  I got the high waisted bottoms from Urban Outfitters (which I LOVE), and the top from a local store. 

One night, we all went to a cliffside restaurant for dinner.  We were able to walk down to a rock formation surrounded by ocean; and yes, MANY photos followed :).  The flowers in my hair (and holding), were on all the outdoor tables- they were so pretty.

Haha, oh my, my attempt at a photo op!  Ahhh, oh well. 

Below are 2 pictures from our first night, in which we discovered a beautiful old tree (perfect for some etheral looking pictures).  Jimmy's brother has a cooler one of me higher up on the tree and looking even more floaty.  The other is of Lisa (in a dress she got from our shop), which I have already edited.  It looks so cool!

There were soooo many beautiful flowers! 

Jungle kitty!

This is a view of the resort we stayed in, Grand Lido in Negril. 

So, this vacation was the first time that Jimmy and I found some activities that we were interested in.  First off, we went parasailing!!  What an experience!!  From the beach, it looks pretty freaking high- when your in the sky, I assure you, it's even higher!!!  I can't lie, for the first minute, it was pretty intense, but once you let go, it feels so amazing!  I literally was either laughing or smiling the enitre time.  What a rush!  While we were up there, we saw a giant sea turtle swimming all by his lonesome, flew beside a seagull, and saw a huge spotted stringray. 

Later on, we took out a 2 person Kayak-looking thingy for a couple hours.  We saw baby starfish, and sand dollars <3.  I realized that I had never seen a sand dollar actually living in the ocean (despite growing up in Florida), so that was so cool to see!

Haha, the baby crabs were hatching all around the resort, so there were thousands of tiny red/clear crabs everywhere.  I was constantly dodging them; they were the size of large ants.  Hmm, what else? 

Oh yes; Jimmy got to preform with 2 Jamaican bands- once at the resort talent show, and then at 'Bourbon Beach', which is a big Jamaican outdoor music venue. 

Of course we had to pick the same night to wear our long paisley dresses, lol.

He is so funny :). 

One more thing.  The world is full of so many negative people.  It takes practice not to get sucked in; but man, once you find ways to keep yourself happy, you feel like you can do anything!!! 

A Jamaican Jimmy and I met said, "If you are ever lost, walk torward the sun.  Physically, and mentally."  Great, huh?  It was perfect because I just finished a song before coming with the lyric "always walk torward the sun"; funny how the universe always supports your outlook isn't it?  Expect bad, and that's what you'll get. 

I love you all, and I hope you had a fantastic week! 

Radical.

'Radical' Tank, U.O.-  Gift

1980's Acid Wash Skirt-  Thrifted, $4.99

Hot Pink Lipstick

Black Velvet Flats

Sorry about the blurry-ish pics today, my camera is being a weirdo! 

Yesterday, I went thrifting at a new spot and found some awesome stuff for myself, which hasn't happened in a while.  This skirt being one of them :).  I would never, ever go out looking for an acid wash skirt (in a million years), but man, I tried it on, and I have to say, I love it!  It looks even cuter in real life. 

The other finds:

1970's dark Denim Knee length Pencil skirt (so coool)

1970's poly Blouse -plaid with little Daisies

1930's style Sheer Floral Bias dress (FINALLY!!!!)

1970's Faded black LEE Jeans (again, FINALLY!)

a pair of 1990's faded Black Jean shorts

1970's Blue floral Sun Dress (have to alter)

& a couple brown Western belts

This new place was a little pricey :(, so I had to put back a couple things.  The place was huge!  I was shopping for a little over 2 hours (it felt like days, haha).  I really needed a good thrift day- haven't had this much success in one store since last summer!

I love this shirt..  Jimmy bought it for me for Valentine's Day <3.  It reminds me of everything I loved in Elementary school; my true being, if you will.  Lol. 

So Jamaica is less than a week away, and I my bathing suit search is finally over!  Praise the bathing suit gods!

After searching high and low for some high waisted bottoms, I finally settled on the 'mix & match' pair from Urban Outfitters.  I originally wanted the plain black pair, but since they are selling out faster than they can keep them in, I opted for the black & striped pair.  While waiting for them to come, I went everywhere (literally) in search of a bright, maybe even neon, solid color bikini top to go with them.  I had absolutely no luck until I went to Dillards.  Dear god, bathing suits are SO expensive these days!  Maybe it's because I haven't shopped in a department store in ages, but holy crap.  The tops were ranging in price from $40-over $100.  For just the top!  Anyway, of course I found the perfect top, but with a price tag that was less than ideal...  I put it on hold, and then ran home to see if there was one cheaper on Ebay.  No luck there :(.  But after the council of my Mom, and Jimmy's Mom - yes, I am that cheap - I decided to give it a go. 

And boy, am I glad I did!  I'm so in love with it, and I'm actually excited to wear it!  I can't remember the last time I was excited to wear a bathing suit (maybe never?), so in the end, I'm glad I splurged. 

I have a one piece 1950's bathing suit, but I really wanted something I could lay out in.  Also, to be honest, I get pretty sick of ordering vintage suits off of the internet which end up not fitting correctly every year...  So it was nice to actually be able to try them on.

To end this very long story, the bottoms arrived yesterday, and they fit great!  When I'm on the beach, I'll try to muster the courage to take a picture to show you :).

Yesterday I finished the book, 'A Paper Life', an autobiography by Tatum Oneal.  Holy moly.  Poor, poor woman..  She had a horrendous childhood, and still to this day has to deal her terrible father, Ryan Oneal.  On the up side, she grew up in Hollywood, so reading this book also gives you insight on the likes of Anjelica Houston, Cher, Madonna, & Melanie Griffith, to name a few.  It's hard to put down- I read in feverishly for 2 days.  It's a great read, even if you aren't into her specifically. 

I've been writing songs like crazy lately.  I've been sewing too, but the urge to play guitar seems to take over my free time most of the time.  My structures are changing, and I tell tell that my abilities are broadening, which is exciting :).  We are currently recording a Good Night Noises demo (with the new folks), so I'll post it at soon as it gets finished. 

Have a great day!  ally.