Some Beach Time

What a blast! Over President's Day weekend, we had some friends visit from Colorado. It was wonderful showing them snippets of the Island, sharing our favorite restaurants and just catching up. But the tour de force was beach time!!! We took our buds over to the Breakers Beach.

The kids had a blast frolicking in the water while we had ice cold margaritas! The photos seem to ring of what I "classically" imagine as crowded upscale commercial beach...and evidence of a holiday weekend. Do enjoy the tour. If you come visit, maybe we'll go there too!!

 

 

  

Hope you have a great day and "don't forget the sunscreen."

A pink-cheeked sun-drenched girl.

Goodbye, old friend

There is an over one hundred year old Coral tree that stands between the Rectory and The Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach. It is a stunning old anchor that separates the two places and marks the entrance to the lovely Cluett Memorial Gardens just north of the Rectory. We are saying good-bye to it over the next three days.

as viewed from my craft room, through the screen

 It's hard to express my feelings about this loss. It is a necessity at this point as the tree is diseased and damaged and could come down in any kind of storm. But it seems such a sheltering presence that even though we've only been under its branches since June, it is affecting my profoundly. So I wanted to share a few images of it with you and share some of its delight and astounding stature. Enjoy!

 

 

Good night, dear friend!

To read more about this remarkable tree, click here!

Palm Beach Bucket List

 Here are a few things that I have done here, that I would not do in Colorado

Played in the surf, had dinner outside in January, not "scraped a car" all winter, watched flowers bloom all year, ate lunch at the Breakers, dined on the beach as the sun set over the Atlantic Ocean, worshiped at one of the most beautiful Gothic churches on the East Coast: Bethesda-by-the-Sea, witnessed shaped topiaries outside of Disney or Vegas, gone to charity balls, met celebrities, ate an entirely shelled lobster that rested on an ice block sculpture, fed coy fish in the church garden, walked on the beach any time many times, purchased great stuff at the best consignment store in the world the Church Mouse, visited the Norton Museum of Art, valeted at the grocery store {ok, I never really did that, but I could if I wanted to...} 

My Palm Beach Bucket List

Visit Flagler museum, eat a mango fresh from the tree, dance under the stars at the Everglades Club, wear a Lilly, make an astonishing key lime pie, meet more celebrities, find the best burger around, go to Zumba, walk over the middle bridge, take photos at the Four Arts sculpture garden, ride the Diva Duck, take an art class at the Armory, witness nesting mama turtles and hatching babies, write an article for The Palm Beacher or other regional publication, get a good picture in the Shiny Sheet and I'm sure there are more...

 

But more than anything I always want to be real and be thankful!! 

See you soon, Eli

On Transitions

{source}

Transitions! 

I'm not talking those cool eyeglasses

that turn darker to meet the

sunshine-in-your-eyes needs...

Nope, I'm talking moving, 

making new friends, 

worshiping in a new church,

starting at a new school,

finding a job, 

buying a car,

getting the dog settled...

...are you tired yet? I am. 

Sure we are doing it in 

paradise but it is still exhausting.

Moving from Colorado was only cross-country but sometimes it feels like a foreign country. Let me show you what I mean:

·         People dress differently. "Palm Beach Casual" is not like any casual I've ever experienced but I'm figuring it out.

Cropped pants and tunics.  Perfect. 
Add some pink and green and you are really on it.
Check out that cutie on the right.

·         It's expensive to eat, shop and entertain, yourself or others. 

{source}

·     You can walk almost anywhere. (Not that people actually do it here, but you can.)

·         The language is a bit different. Raise your hand if you know what these are: Jack Rogers, feeder bands, clutch, spaghetti model.
Raise the other one if you know the difference between Sequin and Sprinkles.

I borrowed a little quote from a blogger (found here) who recently moved from the US to the UK. Do you think these phases are accurate?

Honeymoon Phase – “Everything is new and interesting.”

Rejection Phase – “Everything is new and sucks.”

Regression Phase – “Everything back home was wonderful & much better than this.”

Recovery Phase - “Everything is going to be okay and I am content.”

{It sounds very similar to stages of grief...}

I don't think I could say I'm in one specific phase but each day brings adventures and a variety of feelings. Most days I lounge around in "Recovery" but occasionally I need to visit one of the previous phases.

Isn't that just the way life is...

See you soon, Eli