WDW Half Marathon Weekend with LOTS of Disney Tips- part 1 !!!

It's been FOREVER since I've updated, but I hope y'all have 'liked' the Pink Pineapple Blog on FB. I try to update it frequently with deals and steals and quick recipes. It's just a lot easier for me to simply post to FB these days vs. blogging. Between FINALLY moving back into our house (if you're a new follower, our ENTIRE house flooded 4 days before our wedding and took some 5 months to get fully repaired) my crazy health issues, working full time, getting ready to become an official travel agent (stay tuned for this fun news) and just learning to be married, we've been super busy! But, hubs and I did manage to complete the Walt Disney World Half Marathon last weekend which brings me to this post....our experience annnnnnd tips for how to do Disney on a budget!
                    


Now, when I saw we completed the half, we did just that-completed it. Did we run the entire 13.1 miles? No. Did we train like we should have? No. BUT, we did it, and while we finished in a little over 3 hours and in 19,420th place-Ha! . We finished it..... and we still beat out some 6,000 other participants. I tell you this to show you that anyone can complete a race if you put your mind to it. 5 years ago if you told me I would LOVE doing half marathons, I would've laughed in your face-but I really do love them.
Am I fast? No. Do I feel like I'm going to die as I cross the finish line? Absolutely. But, do I feel  amazing afterwards? Yes! Yes! and Yes! Races really are an absolute blast- especially at fun places like Disney- AND you walk away feeling like superwoman. Seriously friends, sign up and do one- you'll be hooked!
                                

Back in July, we decided to sign up for the race. Our minister at our church and his wife were planning on going down to do the half and full respectively and we decided it would be fun to complete it with them! Had we known the absolute nightmare that was going to plague us for months on end with getting our house complete and that I was going to end up in the ER 4 times over the next 4 months, we probably wouldn't have signed up to go, but alas, we were signed up and since the race is non-refundable,  we decided that we simply had to go- sans training in all.
                     

We flew down to Orlando on Thursday evening via my favorite cheap way to get to FL airline, Allegiant. I joke and call it Ghetto Air, but I really do love this budget airline. It has gotten me to and from FL 5 times in the past couple of years for less than $200 per flight. Every plane is large, the flights are direct and their prices are definitely unbeatable!  Our flight left on time and 1:35 minutes later we touched down at Sanford's Airport (the smaller Orlando airport about 45 min drive to Disney). As we walked to baggage claim, we were greeted with a gorgeous sunset, warm weather, and palm trees. Bliss.

We headed over to the Alamo building to pick up our car that was booked for $13/ a day via Hotwire. Again, my absolute go to for renting a car- in fact, I NEVER rent a car any other way except through Hotwire. We booked a compact car, but were excited to learn that they were low on those, so we got a free upgrade to a mid-sized car, a Dodge Dart (excellent car-love it- would definitely consider buying one). Had we booked directly through Alamo, we would've paid at least $50 a day for the same car. We hooked up our GPS (we bring our own to save the extra $10 a day they charge to use theirs) and headed to our hotel.

We LOVED our little "white stallion"

Now, I would tell anyone going to Disney to stay on property if your sole plan for being in Orlando is to visit Disney. Their resorts are top notch-truly amazing, they offer free airport shuttles, you get your own entrance to the parks, extra park hours etc. It really is the way to go if you can afford it (and their budget level resorts are VERY affordable). However, if you are on a tight budget, or like us, had plans other than simply being at Disney, staying elsewhere works as well! Since we had to live at the Residence Inn all summer while our house was being completed, we racked up some serious frequent guest points (to read the benefits of signing up for frequent guests cards read HERE.) We had enough to cover our entire stay, plus some, so we decided to use those and stay for free!
              


We booked the Courtyard Mariott in Lake Bunea Vista Village and we were very happy with our location, room, and hotel pool. Our hotel was literally a 5 min drive from Downtown Disney and a 2 min drive to the outlets. We fell in love with the entire Mariott corporation this summer since they took such great care of us and this time, it was no different. In our "village" there were 3 Mariott hotels- a Courtyard, Fairfield and SpringHill suites. As a guest at one you had access to each hotel with your key card which allowed for visiting different pools, restaurants, etc. In typical "I'm getting ready to be a real official travel agent" fashion, we scoped out all the other hotels and they were all nice. The Courtyard had the best pool- very tropical resort feel, but the Springhill is all suites so it definitely had larger rooms and would be great for families.

LOVE the new panoramic picture feature on the iPhone :)

We dropped off our luggage, took a quick shower and headed out to Downtown Disney to meet our newly engaged friend, Tiffany, for dinner and wedding talk!  I LOVED throwing on a strapless top and open toed shoes in January! We carb-loaded with pasta at Planet Hollywood (good food, but overpriced) and then enjoyed walking around Downtown Disney. We stayed for an hour or two and then went back to the hotel to prepare for our big day ahead- Animal Kingdom and the Race Expo!

So excited for the bride to be!!!

                        

We woke up around 8 on Friday morning, headed to Chick-Fil-A for some chicken minis and a fruit cup (did you know that it's only 300 calories for a 3 count and a fruit cup?) and headed to Animal Kingdom. It was our first time at this park and thanks to the extra income from my second job as a Thirty-One Consultant, we were able to visit the park. Tickets to Disney parks are $89.00 a day for an adult, and while you can get discount tickets by going to time-share presentations and such, we decided to just pay at the gate. If you're going to be there for several days, you can get discount multi-day passes via AAA, but I highly discourage going through "ticket brokers" as they just cant be trusted. IF you buy tickets from a 3rd party, make sure they are licenced through Disney. The last thing you want to do is be stuck at the gate with a ticket that turns out to be void.

We parked at the park ($14), walked right up to the ticket window, purchased our tickets, and went through security. You can save money by parking for free at Downtown Disney, but you will have to ride the shuttle to a Disney Hotel, and then take that transportation to the parks. While this saves you from paying to park, it takes about an hour to bus and tram hop to the parks' entrances. However, it's a fun way to see the resorts if you're not in a rush and want to save the parking money.



Animal Kindgdom was not packed at all which means we didn't have to use the Fast Pass system or our trusty Disney Wait Times App (free found in the app store). Both of these are an absolute MUST if going to the parks when they are busy! Our favorite ride was Expedition Everest and we also enjoyed the Safari. I've been on an actual Safari in South Africa and Disney has done an excellent job of making this ride very true to Africa! A Bugs Life was fun (but could definitely be scary for kiddos) and the Finding Nemo puppet show was so unique!
  



We ate lunch in the park and for two of us, our bill was $20. While this wasn't bad, I can see how eating in the parks with a family of 4 or more over several days could really add up! BUT, Disney lets you bring in your own food and we saw lots of families eating picnic lunches. Plus, Disney will also give you free cups of ice water and/or hot water so you can mix up your own lemonade, coffee, etc. Disney also offers free dining plans on occasion (if you are staying at a Disney resort) which is an AWESOME deal!! Oh, Mickey, you're so kind!!!

At around 3 or 4 we needed to head to the race expo and since we had already hit up all the rides, we headed to Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex for the expo......
                     


Race Expo and Race Day coming in Part 2!!

Scrumptious Sunday....HEALTHY -tastes like pumpkin pie- muffins!

It's been FOREVER since I've posted a yummy recipe, mostly do to the fact that we lived in a hotel for 70+ days this summer and I didn't have a kitchen, but now that I have a kitchen again, I've started cooking AND am using all of our new kitchen gadgets we got for our wedding!
 
Yesterday, I made these super delish, HEALTHY, taste like pumpkin pie muffins. They have no refined sugars in them and use all natural and organic ingredients. I wish I could say all of my creations were that healthy! Ha!

 

I found this recipe on Tenley Molzahn's Sweet and Free page. Tenley was a former Bachelor contestant and lives a gluten-free lifestyle. While I don't do gluten-free, I do try to watch my sugars and refined carbs as much as possible. I'll admit, I was a little hesitant to make these as I thought they might be a tad gross, but they weren't- they seriously taste like pumpkin pie-hence the reason I'm sharing the recipe!

 

 

Here's what you need:

 

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup almond meal

2 eggs

1/4 cup organic applesauce

1/4 cup organic honey

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 Tbls. Chia seeds (I had no clue what these were until reading her blog. They are super good for you and don't change the flavor. I got mine at Trader Joe's for about $5 a bag.

 

I put everything in the Kitchen-Aid and mixed it for 15-20 seconds until it looked like it was mixed well.

 

It was my first time using the new mixer and I am in L-O-V-E! It mixes SO much better than my $10 Wal-Mart hand mixer! Ha!

 

I knew they wouldn't rise much, so I filled about 8 muffin cups pretty full-I sprayed mine with Pam spray and they came out just fine.

 

 

The batter was so yummy that even Gonzaga couldn't get enough! Ha!

 

Don't worry, the bowl went through the dishwasher to kill any dog germs :)
 

 

The muffins baked on 350 for about 30 minutes and then they were ready to eat! I ate one right away-it was just like warm, pumpkin, pie!

 

 

I figured the calories to run about 150 per muffin, but remember, it's all good calories and much better than all of the sugary pumpkin muffins you could make :)

 

 

Happy Muffin Making,

 

Ash

 

 

 

 

 

Easy Burlap Wrap Wreath

I've been on Fall Break all week.....it's been glorious!!! Since M and I teach in different school districts, we only had one day off at the same time (he only had 2 school days off, one being tomorrow), so we didn't go anywhere. After our CRAZY summer, it was actually really nice to stay home and work on the house. Our back splash goes in this week along with any final painting and then the house will be FINISHED!!! Praise. The. Lord.

Earlier in the week, I posted a picture of an easy to do burlap wrap wreath on the Blog's Facebook Page. It was seriously SO easy and it only took me 15 minutes to complete the whole thing- Best of all: It required no scissors, paint, wire or glue. I am 100% about simplicity in my life. I like things that are fabulous, but fabulous AND easy to create :)

Here's the how to:

Supplies:
grapevine wreath
wooden letter- I chose a pre-painted one from Michael's.
2 yards of burlap, cut into roughly 12 inches width
spool of wide, wire-rimmed ribbon



I used an old wreath and removed the flowers that you see lying beside it

Assembly:
Take the burlap and begin wrapping it around the wreath, tucking the first part inside the grapevine to secure it.

 

 

Continue wrapping at around the wreath until you have come full circle. Once, you've come full circle, tuck the excess into more of the grapevine. 2 yards was enough to do this so no cutting was needed, however if you have excess, just trim it away.

 

Then, take a spool of wire-rimmed ribbon and wrap it around the wreath-again, securing into the grapevine.

 

Lastly, take the pre-painted letter and use some of the excess string from the burlap to secure it to the wreath.

 

That's it! So simple and since there's no glue, you can re-do the wreath to make it work for other holidays as well!

 

 

 


Happy Wreath Making

Ash

Diaper Wreath....How To

I'm working on creating a super easy and adorable craft for a baby shower tea I'm co-hostessing on Sunday! I guest posted this on a blog back in the spring and wanted to share it again in case any of you are like me and have friends and family popping out babies everywhere!!! I LOVE it- it's totally giving M and I our baby feel and making us want a little bambino SOON-but not too soon! We need to be fully moved back in our house first- Ha!



Anyway, Happy Wreath Making!!!!

Here's the link to the post: Diaper Wreath How To



Ash

FINALLY......a Post!!! And A Vegas re-cap....

My life has been crazy since we returned from Vegas. Just plum crazy. I've been super sick (visited the ER 3 times, 2 by ambulance. what fun) and we've been working on our sweet little abode (if you're a new follower our entire house flooded 4 days before our wedding. yeah, holy insaneness). Top all of that off with trying to sell M's house and two teachers starting a new school year. So when I say crazy, there's no exaggeration in my words. Ha!

The good news: The house is almost complete. Yay! (If you're a follower of The Pink Pineapple Blog on Facebook, I've been sharing photos of the progress. Be sure to 'like' the page) And, we are finally getting some "normalcy" back into our life. We are no longer living in a hotel and we also had to give up our globe trotting summer and return to work like responsible human beings. I still haven't cooked my husband an actual meal (kitchen still not complete), but we FINALLY got to go through our wedding gifts. Yay! In fact, I just ate off of our "K" Pottery Barn plates for the first time. I felt so regal eating off of a plate with my last initial on it. Yay for being married and yay for being back in OUR home!

Anyway, I know I promised a FULL Vegas re-cap including how we did our trip on a budget so here goes:

Hotel: Bills Gamblin' Hall. It's one of the last of the old hotels still on the main strip and its location is PRIMO- right across from the Bellagio and Caesars, next to the Flamingo. I would never have thought to stay there except my friend and her hubs stayed there once and said it's a great place to stay if you're looking for a cheap hotel. It was super cheap, our bill for 4 nights including the weekend was less than $400. Now, would I go stay here for a big, romantic, type weekend? Negative. But, would I stay here again for a quick Vegas getaway. Definitely. The rooms where large, super clean, had large flat screen TV's and had clean bathrooms with great water pressure. The hotel itself doesn't have a pool, but all guests were able to use the Flamingo's pool by showing their room key. You truly felt like you stepped back in time when in the hotel, but that's what's so neat about Vegas. SO much variety!

   

View from our room

Transportation: We flew to Vegas on Southwest. We had to drive to Louisville since they don't fly out of Lex, but it saved us a couple hundred dollars per ticket by doing so.
While in Vegas we took a shuttle to the hotel and a taxi back to the airport upon us leaving. Reason being; It ended up being the same cost and the shuttle took FOREVER getting us to our hotel because it had to drop of so many people. Unless you're staying way down the strip, the taxi is the for sure way to go. It was only $15 for our ride to the airport from the hotel.

To get around the strip and to get to "Old Vegas" we used the public transportation. Old Vegas being the Fremont Street area (giant neon cowboy, covered street, etc) They have a monorail, which is great when wanting to sight see the strip and a bus system, called "The Deuce". We used the Deuce the most, but monorailed a few times as well. The bus is good in that it's cheap and takes you EVERYWHERE, but it's bad in that it can take awhile to get to where you're going i.e. from our hotel to Old Vegas took around 30 minutes. The buses make TONS of stops, but they are clean, air-conditioned (a lifesaver when it was 110 degrees) and are much cheaper than taxis. A taxi ride from our hotel to Old Vegas would've been $40 round trip where as the bus was $13 for a 24 hour unlimited pass.



Riding the "Deuce" to Fremont street. Can you see the sweat dripping off our faces?! It was SO hot!

Food: Vegas food can be super pricey, especially on the main strip. However, Old Vegas has some crazy awesome deals ($1 margaritas, $10 prime rib dinner, etc). M and I went down there twice, but never ate there. We did, however, zip line across Fremont Street. SO fun and only $15 a person-so worth it!!

M and I zipping down Fremont Street

Here's my food suggestions:

Breakfast:
Hash House A Go Go. It's in the Imperial Palace and the food is SO good! I ordered a pancake and it was as big as my face and M got biscuits and gravy. It's like Cracker Barrel on crack. Ha! So delish and super affordable prices- most plates were under $10.

Bill's Gamblin Hall main restaurant. I can't think of it's name, but it's right by the front desk and the food there was amazeballs as well. And again, affordable.

Egg white omlet with hash. Yum!

Lunch:
We never did anything big for lunch. Most days, we ate breakfast during the time we'd eat lunch at home (thank you 3 hour time change) so if we were hungry, we'd just grab something by the pool or at McDonalds.

Dinner:
Our first night we ate at In-N-Out Burger because neither of us had ever eaten it before and we were starving by the time we got off our flight. We had to hike over the interstate to get to it (it's located right behind the main strip but on the other side of the interstate). Ha-that was fun ;) But it was yumm-o for sure!

Hubs loving his burger!

Spago: Wolfgang Puck's restaurant in Paris. It was very, very good and they even had bread that tasted like a Thanksgiving meal. Sounds weird, but it was SO good! I had the butternut squash ravioli and it was delish. Prices here were okay, around $20 a plate. Service was good and we were happy with our dinner choice.

Spaigo had perfectly sized portions :)

Bellagio Buffet: This was suggested to us by several people and we certainly enjoyed it! The wait can be CRAZY long (we tried one night and it was over 2 hours), but we went back Sunday and only waited for about 30-45 min, and that was around 4pm mind you. I'm not a huge eater, but I was with two men and a 30 weeks pregnant woman, and they LOVED it! I liked it as well, but didn't feel that I ate nearly the amount of food that I paid the price for. I believe the buffet was about $50 a person and trust me, M definitely got his $50 worth. I would probably pass on this if I were going again, or sans my hubs, but that's just me. If you like to eat and you like buffets, this is one of the best!


Alright, I'm exhausted. I'll post more about our Cirque show, trip to the Hoover Dam, pool day with Vanilla Ice, riding the Big Shot at the Stratosphere and share some other fun pics in another post.

Stay Tuned.......and be sure to like the Pink Pineapple Blog on Facebook. I've been posting links to great deals and such I run across, since it's much easier and faster than posting them in a blog :)

Happy Vegas-ing
Ash

Thrifty Thursday....Marley Lilly Tee

Oh little blog, I'm so sorry I've neglected you! Vegas was a blast (full post coming soon with tips on how we did it on a budget.promise), but since returning home we've been in school mode FULL FORCE! School started for us yesterday, so my life from 6am-6pm is consumed with all things school related.

BUT, I did want to take time to let y'all know about this awesome ONE DAY deal that Marley Lilly is having. They are selling new, super cute, monogrammed tee's and they are deeply discounted through tonight only ($29.99). I LOVE how cute they are and I know they will be great quality since Marley is who we got our honeymoon beach bag from and we LOVE it- I even took it to Vegas as my carry-on bag :) 
Pictures are included below!
Happy cute t-shirt wearing!!!

Our honeymoon beach tote :)



Here's what the super cute shirts look like

Hey Baby, Let's Go To VEGAS!

Be sure to 'like' Pink Pineapple Blog on Facebook :)

Hubs and I are off to Cincinnati today and Vegas tomorrow to celebrate us and our other friend turning 30 this month! Instead of giving each other gifts for holidays, birthdays, etc, we take trips (at least that's what we do now-sans little Kinney Bambinos).

To prepare, we watched National Lampoons Vegas Vacation- We've both seen it a million times before, but we couldn't go to Vegas without watching it again. Especially since we are going on the "dam tour" Friday. Ha!  So. Stinkin. Funny.

  

I'll be back next week- Viva Las Vegas, friends!!

A tribute to my Memaw

My sweet Memaw went to Heaven on Friday. She was a wonderful woman and I am SO glad that the Lord blessed me with almost 30 years with her! She was a very talented writer and the woman who I inherited the writing gene from. She wrote us letters for each of our birthdays and she wrote me my final one for my wedding day. She was SO happy for me and Michael and I'm so glad that she was able to be there with me on my wedding day! She always told me that she loved my zest for life and just recently, she told me to "Keep traveling the World" because its something she wished she'd done more. Every time I visit someplace new, I know she will be right there with me and I will continue to carry on her writing genes through this blog.

6-2-12

While I will miss her here, I have no doubt that she loved Jesus and that she's in Heaven and I rest in the fact that we are simply saying "See you later" and not "Goodbye." Please pray for my family and especially my mom as I am sure tomorrow will be a tough day.

Thrifty Thursday....Why I LOVE Outlets

It's no secret that I'm a fan of shopping at outlets. In fact, I'd say most of you are fans of shopping in them as well. Who doesn't love saving big bucks on items?!
Well, what's better than outlet shopping? Outlet clearance shopping!! M and I hit up the outlets recently and I got a CRAZY deal at JCrew! I'm so excited about it, that I just had to show y'all what I got for a whopping $40.

Dress, Top, Headband, and Beach Hat from J Crew :)

 Here's how I got them for so cheap:
1) They are outlet items so already cheaper.
2) They were in the clearance section at the store-where I ALWAYS head first, even when shopping outlets
3) They were on SALE in the clearance section for 50% off the already clearance price.

Here's a little secret that I have learned about outlets, and most stores, really. They begin clearancing out items right in the peak of the season. Summer items go on super clearance mid-July and Winter go on clearance in early January. I don't shop for clothes too often in Spring and Fall because I tend to just add layers to items I already have, so I can't say from experience what months those items get clearanced out. Regardless, outlets always provide awesome deals if you know how to shop smart. My motto is: NEVER pay full price for anything, even when it's in the outlets :) So, hit up those sale racks and save yourself some green!!

Happy Outlet Shopping,
Ash

Travel Tip Tuesday....Great Airport :)

Even though I'm a total Nervous Nancy when flying, I really do LOVE how we can get from point A to B SO fast. I also love that for most trips, it's actually CHEAPER for us to get there by air than by car. When you are travelling solo or with one other person to destinations over 8 hours away, you can really save some major green buy flying the friendly skies! Example: You can fly to FL for under $200 per person. If we loaded up the car and drove the 12 hours there and back, we'd spend MORE on gas and food than we would by flying.

DFW!!

I always try to fly non-stop, but when I have a layover someplace, I always try to choose my favorite airport, Dallas Fort-Worth aka DFW. I really do LOVE this airport for several reasons and I think that once you've been there, you'll love it too!!

Airport Map :)

Here's why I always say "Yes" to a flight that has a DFW layover:

1. It is ran SUPER efficiently. Everything from the trams to flights seems to run like a well-oiled machine. It's truly something unreal.

2. Their Customs department is AMAZING! I have never seen a customs area move so quickly and be more organized than my time in customs at DFW. You get in and get out in no time without having to wait in crazy long lines. There's no question as to where you need to go next (if you've never been through Customs it's a process with several stops) because it is all set up so well. The workers are even super friendly which makes everything more pleasant. I swear, the agents in Miami don't even smile, but in Dallas you get that friendly southern, "Hello!"

3. They are a pro-healthy eating airport! They have lots of healthy options and the trams even have maps in them showing you where each healthy place is located. There's nothing worse than eating nasty airport quality bad for you food and then getting on a plane with recycled air. At least in Dallas, you can easily find a healthy refreshing alternative easily :)

4. They have AWESOME chairs. Okay, so this may sound silly, but we all know how miserable sitting in those airport chairs can be. DFW has lounger chairs as well as chairs that come equipped with footrests and drink holder. Amaze!

The next time you have to have a layover, I highly recommend choosing DFW as your airport!!


Happy Flying and Layover enjoying :)

The Great Post-Wedding Chop!!!

I did it! I chopped it off and I LOVE it :)

Here's the before and after:

The hair with the Locks of Love offical form :)

Happy Monday, Friends :)

See this crazy long hair....

Wearing my $15 dress steal from Marshalls on our honeymoon :)

I am about to cut it off.......maybe. I have a hair appointment on Monday (a gift from the girl who did my hair for the wedding. How sweet is she?!)  and I'm 95% sure I'm going to cut off 10 inches and donate it to Locks for Love. If you're not familiar with this amazing organization here's what they do: they take donations for hair, 10 inches or longer, and make wigs out of your hair to give to children undergoing chemotherapy and have lost their hair. Amazing, right?!
When I began growing my hair,  I always knew that when I decided to cut it, that I was going to donate it- I just wasn't sure when I was going to cut it. Well, my hair has been giving me FITS the past few weeks and I decided it was time to make the big cut! I made my appointment with Amanda for Monday morning, and while most moments I'm totally ready to see it go, other moments I think I may end up going for a little trim instead. Since the hair is SO long now, I should be left with a decent length, and as long as I still have a good length to work with, I'm good- I think?! Ha!

I guess we will find out on Monday night what I decided to do.........Stay tuned and be sure to 'like' The Pink Pineapple Blog on Facebook to see pictures :)

Wedding Wednesday.....Our Honeymoon-last stop, South Beach

We left Antigua around 3:30 on a Thursday afternoon. We left the resort around 12:30 and had a short 10 minute ride to the airport. Upon arriving at the airport, we realized that there wasn't much to it-in fact, it reminded me a lot of the Port Au Prince Airport in Haiti. The check-in was outdoor, in a covered area-there was a nice breeze so it was actually pretty nice! We waited in line for about 15 minutes and then headed to the next check-in spot; I say next because there were several. We proceeded to the window and paid our $50 fee to leave the country ($25, each) and then went through another gate where we had to show our passport, a second time. We made it through that gate and then came to yet another gate where we had to show our paperwork again and then we headed to the actual security check. We put our carry-on luggage through the scanner and mine was flagged because of my medicines. They had to check my ENTIRE carry-on, down to EVERY last corner-talk about feeling a tad invaded! Ha! After finally making it through the security check, we were in the actual airport. 

We didn't each lunch at the hotel as we thought there would be plenty to eat at the airport and boy were we wrong- aside from a pizza counter, there was nothing. There were a few cute little shops, one in particular that we used to buy M's temporary wedding band.....for $7.95 :) The sweet cashier told us that she would be our official witness to make our new wedding band official! Ha!

The pizza counter and the new wedding band!

The airport did have free wi-fi which was really nice and after waiting around for a couple of hours it was time for us to board our flight. We lucked out and ended up being on one of American's brand new 737 planes- SO nice! It definitely eased my flying anxiety being on such a nice jet!

We arrived in Miami a few hours later and entered in the crazy mess of customs. If you've ever been through customs in Miami you know it can be quite the hassle, but overall it went pretty smooth. We felt like rats being pushed through a maze, but overall we made it through in pretty good time and without hassle. We grabbed a taxi and then headed to our hotel, which until we reached the taxi car, I had no clue as to where we were staying. The hotel in Miami was a surprise from M. He researched it and booked it all by himself and he picked a winner.....The Cleveander!

Stole this photo from Google since I forgot to sanp one!

M had also called the hotel earlier in the day and told them about losing his wedding band as well as the house flooding before our wedding. He asked the hotel to make sure our room was extra special and they totally delivered on his request! We arrived and were handed what is quite possibly the best pina colada I have ever consumed and then we were whisked away to our room. The hotel had upgraded us to what they called the "best room in the house" and had yet another surprise for us as we walked in- rose petals, EVERYWHERE!!!

They also gave us a sweet note and a bottle of champagne to enjoy! How sweet are they?!

View from our patio

We were super excited about our night in Miami so we changed clothes and got ready to hit the town! We were stoked about being in South Beach and couldn't wait to enjoy all it had to offer us!

As we headed out it started to storm, but we thought,"Eh, it's the beach, it will stop in like 30 minutes." Ha! Were we ever wrong!! It stormed, and stormed, and stormed. The streets filled up with water, the wind was kicking and here we are walking the streets under a dinky little umbrella! We stopped into one of those trashy beach shops for a bit to try to stay dry and then we ended up in the gellato shop- the same shop featured in the Jersey Shore.

view from the porch of the gellato shop

We grabbed some gellato and waited for about 30 minutes hoping it would let up, but by this point we were half soaked (me wearing white pants mind you) and we decided to head back to the hotel to re-group. We made it back to the hotel about 10 minutes later and were totally soaked. The hotel was CRAZY by this point with people EVERYWHERE watching the NBA Finals- and I mean C-R-A-Z-Y, like spring break style. We took our soaked bodies up to our room and ordered room service for dinner and decided to just call it a night! So much for our big night out in South Beach. Ha :)

elevator shot on the way back to our room- drenched.

We woke up at 4:45 the next morning for our super early flight home! We had a pit stop in Dallas, which has THE best airport that I've ever been in, and then we flew home to Lexington! We had a great honeymoon, but we were very excited to be home!! We are planning on cruising next summer for our one year anniversary, so we will try to tackle South Beach again next June. Fingers crossed for no rain!