Katie's Vacation Bucket List
- Eat at Lulu's
- Lulu's is a restaurant in Gulf Shores that's owned by Jimmy Buffett's sister, Lulu. It's pretty much a "must" for anyone vacationing on the Gulf. The atmosphere is SO fun, much like Margaritaville, and they have THE coolest menu items and gift shop around! The wait can be lengthy, but the experience is totally worth it. The entire restaurant property is like a beach scene - in the waiting area outside of the open-air restaurant, there are play places for the kids, sand volleyball courts, a huge and awesome gift shop, little carts/huts where they sell drinks, and PERFECT scenery for pre-food baby pictures! My mama has never been to Lulu's, so I am THRILLED that we are going to get to go for dinner one evening!
- Participate in at least one CrossFit workout at CrossFit 1834
- So, my original plan miiiiiiight have been to CrossFit the ENTIRE week while on vacation since the box is only 2.5 miles from our hotel... And I miiiiiight be talking myself out of it. I am sometimes not so fabulous at making myself relax. My mama frequently says I "burn the candle at both ends," whatever THAT means {just kidding}. So I'm highly contemplating forcing myself to only let myself workout one time next week instead of ALL week... Don't get me wrong... I WILL still work out every day! Just maybe not at a box so that I'm forced to take a week off from lifting heavy weights. The recovery is good for your body! The great thing about CrossFit is that a lot of the movements are ones that athletes can do on the go. Running, double-unders, burpees, sit-ups, push-ups, air squats... Just to name a few! There are lots of apps that provide daily WOD's for CrossFitters on-the-go that can be performed in a hotel room or a hotel workout room.
- Have breakfast at Brick & Spoon in Orange Beach
- My dear Paleo friends Heath & Beth vacationed in Gulf Shores just last week and the Brick & Spoon came highly recommended! Beth mentioned something about an omelet with shrimp and bell peppers? Ummm.. YUM! I've looked them up on Urban Spoon and they have fabulous reviews! Since the traditional continental breakfast provided by our hotel doesn't really fit into my eating style, we've already decided to try this place out!
- Shop the J. Crew Factory SALE {40% off EVERYTHING!!!!}
- I am a girl that LOVES my J. Crew. LOVE LOVE LOVE! As a matter of fact, I scored the beach hat I'll be wearing next week at J. Crew Factory while I was vacationing in Chicago over Memorial Day weekend. I am on their email list and they just so happen to be having a 40% off of EVERYTHING sale through this Sunday! They must've known I was comin', y'all..... We've strategically discussed making it to the outlet malls to shop at J. Crew by the end of the day Sunday...
- Take LOTS of pictures!!!!!!!!
- This one should need no explanation... I am determined to take as many pictures as possible! I know this vacation will make me wish I was the owner of a really snazzy camera. {Hint, hint Santa!}
- Get in the water EVERY day
- Okay, this BETTER happen! I fully plan to spend at least a large portion of every day in the sand and sun! I'm not a big pool fan, so beach here I come! Don't worry, I've spent the last several months stocking up on cute bathing suits and cover-ups and hats and towels and everything else you can imagine... A girl HAS to look cute while accomplishing so many bucket list items, right?! Pictures of that fabulousness to come, too!
- DON'T {Do Not. Can Not. WILL NOT.} get a sunburn!
- If you know me in real life, you know I had a dermatology scare just a few months ago.. That resulted in surgery, lots of new skin products entering my regimen, and a BIG lecture from the doc about how I'm never to lay in a tanning bed ever again and should ALWAYS, ALWAYS wear sunscreen. I heard ya loud and clear, bro! {On the real, y'all.... Tanning beds are BAD!!!! My scare was the direct product of a tanning bed. Being tan is NOT worth that! End rant. I've done my civic duty, so don't let me be able to say "told ya so".....} I've stocked up on SPF 50, special sunscreen for my face, and have SPF chapstick on my "pre-beach Walmart trip" list. Indian blood runs in my family so, when I am exposed to sun, I actually get pretty dark! It's just the getting past being burnt first stage that we've gotta work on.... Crossing my fingers for a tan with NO burn! AND a happy dermatology report come October!
- Healthy snackin'
- Speaking of pre-beach Walmart trip list, I've got LOTS of healthy snacks on my list! It's HARD to eat healthy while traveling... Especially while in the car going to and from. BUT, I've come up with a list of snacks that I think will help with this problem! Fruit, organic nut butters, cheese sticks, almonds, hummus, veggies, bottled water... Just to name a few! Now, I can't speak for what I might eat outside of snack time but I'm counting on LOTS of seafood.
- Read TWO whole books for enjoyment
- I am a reader. I adore it! Since I started college and, immediately following college, my career, I haven't had much time for "fun" reading, as one might call it. I ordered a book off of Amazon a few months ago called "A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet".. And I've saved that book for this beach trip! Any idea how many times I just wanted to read just a fewwwww pages?! Yeah, a LOT. But I stayed faithful! Her pages have yet to be turned. I also have a library book called "Dinner With a Perfect Stranger" that came highly recommended by my friend Michele. Since mama is also a reader, I don't think it'll be difficult at all to accomplish this bucket list item! I plan to finish my Rich Froning book tonight after I finish packing so that I can start on one of my two new books the very first chance I get on Saturday!
- Don't pack 2,093,482,348,728,348,734 pairs of shoes {Yes, I own almost this many}
- Speaking of packing..... I tend to be known for over-packing. Hey, it's a girl thing! So, I've made it a self-proclaimed goal to NOT pack a gazillion pairs of shoes. We will see how this turns out....
- Be faithful to my devotional reading
- I think I've mentioned the amazing devotional that I started in April, "The One Year Book of Inspiration for Girlfriends: Juggling Not-So-Perfect, Often-Crazy, but Gloriously Real Lives." I LOVE it! I typically have a hard time staying caught up in devotional reading, but not with this one! I plan to take it to the beach and read it every morning!
- Buy NO MORE THAN 3 t-shirts {That's right.. That says THREE! No more. No less?}
- Again, if you know me in real life... You know I'm a t-shirt freak! I have to have a t-shirt from everywhere. Now, I'm not talking those cheesy tourist t-shirts {I don't desire a tank top with "GULF SHORES LET'S PARTY" strewn across the front in like twelve different neon colors... No thank you!} But we are talking COOL t-shirts. Eat at a great restaurant with really cool t-shirts? Gotta have it. Fayettechill comes out with an awesome new shirt design? Sign me up! Found a CrossFit shirt I can't live without? Send that baby my way. I'm making a self-imposed rule of NO MORE THAN three t-shirts on this trip. And I don't even want myself to break it even if I find like six really, really awesome t-shirts I can't live without. No ma'am. I only need three! Satan, be gone!
- Don't talk about work/don't think about work/don't text about work/don't check work e-mail
- This one is one we will call a RULE, not an item. I'm on VACATION! Don't talk to me about work. Don't call me about work. Don't text me about work. Don't e-mail me about work because I WON'T be checking my e-mail! As a matter of fact, I'm turning my work e-mail OFF on my iPhone. I am forced to impose said rule on myself because, just like being bad at relaxing, when put in an environment to focus on work, I can't resist! For one week - NO WORK.
- Try a new food {Or try to, that is}
- Oysters? Love 'em. Mahi mahi? Yes please. I want to try something different! My goal is to find a restaurant with some sort of {non-disgusting} seafood I've never had before. That might be hard because I'm a seafood LOVER and, if ever in life given the chance to try a certain type of seafood, I've never said no!
- Social media hiatus {Almost entirely}
- Now, this one needs a little disclaimer. Do not put it past me to want to upload amazing beach pictures to Instagram and Facebook to let everyone know what a wonderful time I'm having while you are all working. Yes, I want you to be jealous! Get over it. BUT, I don't care who is announcing their pregnancy, who got engaged, who took another selfie in their bathroom, who is mad at who, who got flowers at work, who is dreading going back to school, who hates their job, who is ready for football season, who watched the "Bachelorette"... Blah, blah, blah. For ONE WEEK I don't want to know about your lives! I'm sorry. But I'm not. This just gives you an excuse for us to go to dinner when I get back so you can catch me up :)
- DON'T miss RHONJ {That's right... I said it}
- Yes, I'm an awesome friend. I don't care about your life next week, but I DO care about what happens with Teresa and Melissa on RHONJ!!!!!!!! Mama, I doubt the hotel room has DVR and I can't wait a whole week, so we have a Sunday evening date with Bravo and our hotel room. I'll even supply the wine to make it more realistic :)
- Take a pictures with the "state signs" for the states we drive through
- By my watch, that'll be Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama. I want to be the corny girl with pictures by those states' signs! Why, you ask? Well, at some point in my life, I've been a resident of each one of them :) This might make a super cool collage for my house AND I have three 5x7 frames I need to fill up... OH. EM. GEE. Genius is born here, people! Can you picture the "Welcome to..." signs of those three states in black and white, framed and hanging in my house?! YES. PLEASE.
- Spend lots of one-on-one time with The Lord
- What better place to reflect on your blessings than the beach?! One of God's best creations, I'm convinced. I have a LOT to be thankful for! The Lord is working in my life in ways I couldn't have imagined. Never fails that, just when I think He's forgotten me, THERE He comes with something amazing that He's crafted just for me. I am guilty of thinking that if MY plan isn't working out, God has foresaken me.... Ohhhh, how He humbles me when those thoughts cross my little mind! I'm amazed and SO blessed by what He's doing in my life. Giving your life, your plans, your dreams, your career, your family, your friends, your talents and abilities to God is the BEST thing you'll ever do! He has a plan for you, bigger than what you could've imagined and it's incredible to see Him laying that plan out. I plan to spend my time on the beach thanking Him - thanking Him for the job I have an the ability to take time off for vacation, the means to afford vacation, His astounding creations, His plans for my life, friends and family He's gifted me with and for the blessings he's bestowed upon them... I'll have to say that I am thrilled to have time away from the hustle and bustle to do just this! There's no better place to praise Him that in the midst of one of his best creations.
- Have dinner at a few of the restaurants I {obsessively} scouted out
- When we started planning our trip, we came to the agreement that we both wanted to spend the day on the beach and then the evening in a sundress and flip-flops with little to no make-up and stuffing our faces with seafood! So, the Type-A in me decided to scout out a few area restaurants we might want to try! I looked up names, reviews, addresses, and phone numbers. You can never be too prepared, right?! A few of the restaurants I found that sound really yummy!
- Bahama Bob's
- The Original Oyster House
- Tacky Jack's {T-SHIRT!!!!}
- Sea N' Suds {we've eaten here a few times before!}
- DeSoto's Seafood Kitchen
- Sassy Bass Amazin' Grill
- Cafe Beignets of Alabama
- Shrimp Basket
At the beginning of this post, I specifically recall mentioning how I'm loving not having set plans for this trip.. And here I go with a long to-do list of PLANS! I'm planning to not plan while planning. Lord HELP me! Type-A, much?! Ha!
If y'all have any tips or suggestions about what we should do or places we should eat while in Gulf Shores, I'd LOVE to hear them! {Specifically restaurant suggestions, you know me!} I can't promise I'll be stopping by at all next week, but I'll definitely have LOTS of goodies for you when we return from vacation, including a self-evaluation on my bucket list! Have a blessed week, y'all! xoxo
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