Awake My Soul

I have been meaning to blog about our trip to Florida for awhile now...it was soooooo freaking fun.

Let's just start by saying that Awake My Soul is one of my top five favorite Mumford songs...watch this video to see why:

(notice how much fun they look like they are having...they looked even more excited at our concert...such a fun experience! : ) )

I'm going to start with the end:
When we got back, I got off the plane feeling like a million bucks (I had worked out and eaten healthy the whole trip...I was so proud and kind of feeling cocky about it...biiiig mistake) and only a few short hours later I was down and out with pneumonia, bronchitis, and a nasty sinus infection. It extended my "vacation" by over a week. My living room couch and I became close friends. The trip awoke my soul and my depressed my immune system. Good trade I'd say.

me getting a neb treatment at urgent care...sexy time

Jason was sick for a few days too : ( Louie is just lazy though

my "nightstand" for a week...notice many herbal remedies mixed in...hoping for a faster cure. no dice.

my mother in law suggested tons of shopping apps for my phone while I was sick...just what I needed...haha!

But who cares about the sickness. It's over, I'm recovering...still getting my energy and work out stamina back but I'm getting there! : )

Now to the important part.

Disclaimer: this is a long post and there are TONS of pictures!! : ) (all photos taken on my iphone)

Let me just preface this post with some background info about me and vacations.

I generally treat them as a free for all. Eat whatever, drink whatever, and don't worry about working out. Only problem was I noticed I would come home feeling drained and horrible and that didn't make much sense considering I was supposed to be refreshed!

So this time I decided to be as active as possible. Make an effort to get out an walk, run or whatever! I have been eating gluten free for about 3 months now and dairy free for about a month so I decided to stick to that as well...no cheating! I was very successful and I was able to get in some physical activity on most days and made good food choices without feeling deprived. I was so happy and feeling amazeballs when I came home. But as you saw, within hours of our return I was wiped with illness. Oh well! Who knows how much sicker I would have gotten had I not been so healthy right?!  ; )

Ok here we go: so I got to Florida a few days before Jason so that I could spend time with my nieces before heading to St. Augustine for the concert weekend : ) He sadly had to work...but I had a great time in Gainesville as I always do. Spent some quality time with my mother in law and had an awesome time with my sister in law Nikki. I usually offer to watch the girls on Tuesdays and Thursdays when Nikki works...it's fun for me. I pretend to be a mom...and then leave appreciating my sleep even more than I ever thought possible. Haha.

The to-do list Ellie gave me the night I arrived...that's my kind of to-do list!

Ruby, the first morning I babysat : )

: )

going for a run with this sweet thing

running the trails by the McCullor's house : )

Ruby accompanied me to Trader Joe's to get some smoothie ingredients and snacks for the weekend

Lula liked the green smoothie

Ellie fake liked it

Ruby was so deliriously past her nap time, she wasn't sure what she thought

After Ruby laid down we made protein balls

post bath snuggles : )

I made fajitas for dinner : )

and home made guac!

Justin said they were "the best fajitas ever"...they were pretty damn good

whew, glad I made the list!

Lipstick, my mom in law's dog

Ellie enjoying grandma's new in ground trampoline

Ellie showing me her swim fin...how cool is that?!

such grace

hehehe

the second day I watched Ruby : )

Ruby and I playing my little ponies or my little hee hee's if you ask Ruby

Ruby rocking her baby

beautiful sights on our jog

best jogging partner ever

So that short but incredibly sweet trip happened and it was the bomb.

I said my early morning good byes to the girls and headed to get my rental car...

I upgraded

Then I headed to Jacksonville for a little Bri time....aka shopping and ocean time. Jason's flight didn't come in til later that evening so I made the most of the day in my sports car...

Jacksonville Beach

loved the sky!

After that lovely afternoon I headed to the Jacksonville airport to pick up my boo. The previous several weeks were really hard for us because Jason has been working a ton. We hardly saw each other and kept clinging to this trip as the time we'd finally get to hang out. It was such an awesome moment when we hugged in the airport because we knew it was time to relax and have fun finally!

And fun we had...we then headed to St. Augustine, our favorite city in Florida where my favorite bands just happened to be playing a music festival : ) Mumford and Sons headlined the Gentleman of the Road tour...Edward Sharpe, John Fogerty and many more were also there. One of Jason's best friends Mark and his wife Amanda came to the concert and of course Nikki and Justin came too! It was so fun. I also got to know Mark's brother Scott and his wife Amber.

We stayed at an amazing bed and breakfast that my kick ass sister-in-law Nikki recommended. We had so much fun staying in the same place as Nikki and Justin and enjoyed our breakfasts out by the pool together : )

But before I get too ahead of myself....

I've just picked up Jason at the airport and we arrive at our b&b the night before everyone else. That sneaky bastard had sent an insanely adorable card to the b&b to set up with a bottle of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries...I cried. I was so happy to be there and finally be hanging out with him!

We then headed out to OC Whites...the best restaurant in St. Augustine with an awesome patio for some drinks...

We spent the next day sitting by the pool and when Nikki and Justin arrived we explored the town and got ready to see Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros! All the stores and restaurants in St. Augustine proudly displayed mustaches in honor of the Gentleman of the Road tour...I took pictures of some of my favorites : )

Our b&b's pool...so awesome

a nice little afternoon

the narrow cobblestone streets are one of the many things I love about St. Augustine

Our lunch spot

I ate a lot of chicken with avocado that week! : )

if you ever come to St. Augustine, stay at the St. Francis Inn!

mustaches everywhere!

even mr. honey had one!

the townies were very nervous about this big festival coming to their small town...everywhere we went people were nervously chatting about it...this article title made me laugh

getting ready to head to edward sharpe

we're mature like that

Nikki and Justin : )

Mark and Amanda : )

the ladies

Our b & b gave us these cute waters to go

Justin carrying his hippy wife's headband...what a guy!

 The tickle sequence of pictures...crack me up!

shots...yuck!

Yes!!!

Edward Sharpe was pretty trippy that night!

and Alex Ebert was super high!

there were tons of small stages throughout the town which was so awesome!

love birds

The next day we did some more exploring of the town and swimming...it was hot has hell!

again, i love the roads!

Later that afternoon we headed out for the main event...Mumford and Sons!!!

had many a drink a OC Whites

those boys

me and Amanda : )

a maple bacon vodka shot...not as bad as you'd think...and I don't like shots!

Scott playing with the street performer

yes

the group

my dirty feet after the show

everyone's feets

 The Mumford concert was up there as one of the best shows I have ever seen. It was so powerful. They sounded even better live than I could have imagined. You could tell they put everything they had into their concerts...such intensity and passion. I didn't take any pictures because I didn't want to miss a single moment. It was so powerful. I cried. I jumped around. I danced. We pushed our way to the front. I cried some more. But mostly I just jumped up and down : )

the b&b had these cute cookies for us when we got back that night

The next morning we enjoyed a good breakfast to aid our hangover...

the oranges and apples had staches too!

After breakfast we headed to the beach with Nikki and Justin for one last hurrah.

The ocean felt amazing. We had a good swim and did some body surfing before saying our sad goodbyes. The worst part is driving away... : (

Jason and I then headed up the coast for one more night by the beach. We splurged and stayed at a nice hotel in Ponte Vedra Beach. It was perfect. The room was gorgeous, the beach was awesome, and we had a hot tub to ourselves that night : )

restaurant on the golf course...there were gators in that water...ahh!

Jason watching football on his phone at lunch...haha

one of the best salads ever....so good!

yup

A successful week!

 That was probably the best Florida trip I've had yet and that's saying a lot. Such a fun variety of activities and such great people to spend it with.

A soul awakening and energizing trip without a doubt : )