Coffee Talk v.13

Things I'm loving lately: this salsa, the 21 Day Fix Pilates Fix workout, the Try Guys (the labor simulation and extreme swimsuits are too much), this book, this dress (and it's on SALE!), this song, Taylor Swift's music video for Wildest Dreams (giraffes!), this nail color, this beach towel, this print and color palate, and this 3-ingredient cookie recipe (cheat day necessity...also, sneak a few chocolate chips inside the middle...NOMS).

Being a travel agent is just the cat's pajamas. I just won a 3-day cruise on the Oasis of the Seas from my agency. A FREE CRUISE, GUYS. Just for booking fabulous vacations for other people. I never thought in a million years I'd find a job that I love AND that it would be one that rewards me for hard work with travel.

D and I are running Mickey's Jingle Jungle 5k at Animal Kingdom this November and I've been seriously slacking on the run training. 3.1 miles isn't a suuuper long way...but in the Florida heat/humidity, it's rough. Have I been training in the heat? Nope. This should be fun.

I had the best meal of my life at GEMMA at the Bowery Hotel in NYC a couple weeks ago. Still swooning over the food, the wine, and the rustic, yet modern Italian ambiance. If there was ever such thing as a restaurant spirit animal, this place would be mine. I'll do a complete review at some point, but just in case any of you are heading to the Big Apple soon...EAT HERE and thank me later.

We're in the throws of hurricane season here in Florida. Erika allllmost made her way here to induct D and I into the Florida hurricane hall-of-fame. Thankfully, she died out over the Dominican Republic this past weekend, but I was having myself a ~~major~~ little meltdown over flooding and wind damage and power outages (oh my!). The season's still young, but we're much more prepared now that Erika put the fear o' God in us. Thanks, Erika?

These photos...ALL of the feels. Tuck turns 9 this fall and some days I can't help but be heartbroken by the little white hairs slowly appearing on his face. He's as spunky as a two year old, but time marches on.

I had a hot dinner double date with this chica and her hubby last night! The stars aligned and our meet cute finally took place. It was glorious, as expected (Annie is total gem!). Our expat statuses brought us together via the blog world years ago, now margaritas, girl talk, and Downtown Disney sealed our friendship for life. What a Tuesday. Ain't blog world, grand?

Do NOT watch he movie Aloha unless you want to be totally confused for an entire hour and 45 minutes. I love Rachel McAdams, John Krasinski, Emma Stone, and Bradly Cooper, but I feel like they all bit off more weird than they could chew with this one. Anyone else see it? Thoughts?

I watched the VMAs. Correction...I cringed through the VMAs. I knew better. I knew if I watched I'd hate every darn second because Miley Cyrus was hosting...and because I'm old and have no clue who half these artists are. But it was worse than bad. The production value, the music, the people...even Taylor Swift couldn't save it. Tori Kelly had the best performance (she killed it), but I was already checked out at that point. Thank goodness I turned the channel before Kanye got up there. President??? I hope the good Lord comes before I ever have to see what a country he'd govern would look like. MTV has really gone downhill these last few years. Or am I turning into a prude? Either way...the VMAs are dead to me.

Instagram's new landscape update. Can I get an AMEN and HALLELUJAH? 'Bout time! Now if we could just get clickable links added, we'd have the app to end all apps. If you've been living under a rock and have idea what I'm talking about...catch up here.

October is National Cruise Month, guys! You know how much I LOVE cruising, so next month I'll be posting quite a few things about cruise travel. Everything from tips & tricks to making the most out of your cruise vacation and dispelling all those cruise misconceptions, all the way to fun cruise recaps (because I've still got lots of those!) and cruise deals from all the major cruise lines so you can get sailing, too! There might even been a chance to win a free booking credit coming to those cruise-lovers who book a sailing with me during October...so stay tuned for more details (sign up for my monthly eNewsletter to be first in the know for travel deals & promos!).

Tell me something good...what's new in your world lately?