More Honeymoon News :)

Day #1
We arrived at the resort around 100pm and our butler took us to our room, showed us around the resort.  Since we had been up since 130am traveling, we decided to put on our bathing suits and just take a walk around the resort and get some drinks.  Which by the way, are delicious.  They have tons of fruitty,tropical drinks there and each one is better than the next.  After walking around the resort for a little bit we ended up on some chairs watching our first Jamaican sunset in awe.  Simply gorgeous.  Our butler had informed us that every Monday evening they have a little beach party.  So went back to our room, got dressed and headed to the party! It was a lot of fun, they had entertainment and a DJ and the food was delicious.

Off to the beach party we go :)

Day #2

We had schedule a sunset/booze cruise that was to start at 300pm that afternoon so I took my little self to the beach while Chris worked out and then joined me.  First let me just say that I LOVED going out to the beach every day and finding a little swan on my beach chair with my chair all ready for someone to lay out and tan in it.  One great thing about the Sandals Resort is that they have professional photographers that walk around during the day and take your pictures if you want.  It was nice because if they got your picture on the beach once they didn't ask you anymore unless you asked them to take them.  And even Chris was ok with taking the pictures :) The photographers were also on the excursions with us, which was also really nice! So after we laid out for a little bit we headed on over to the boat for the booze cruise.  Which was so much fun! They had plenty of drinks, music and sights for us to see! And of course, we watched the sunset while we were on the water :) After our long day, we ordered room service and had a little private candle light dinner on our balcony. perfect end to a perfect day :)

Day #3

Pretty uneventful.  I laid out on the beach all day and just worked on my tan and Chris joined me once he finished working out.  He can't really sit in the sun for too long because he burns very easily and he gets bored.  But he actually said he could sit out there all day because it was so peaceful. Unfortnately he burnt.  He should've listened to me when I told him to either get a higher SPF sunscreen or put it on a little more often. Lesson learned I suppose.  The surprise of the morning was seeing the sting rays swim right up to the shore!! There were a few Jamaican men gutting fish a little ways down the beach and they didn't seem to mind that the stingrays were hanging out right by there feet.  It was pretty cool to see them so up close.  Later that night we went to the Italian place on the resort for dinner. The food was delicious and it was in this little hut like building that was right on the beach and all open.  So when you looked over you were looking at water! It was very nice. and then just wandered around the resort getting a couple drinks and doing a little shopping for a little bit.  We got this really cool piece of artwork for our house, i'll have to take a picture and post it but the Jamaicans actually make it right in front of you!

Stopping by the sunset to take a couple pictures before we headed over to dinner.

Our butler made our dinner reservations :)

Day #4

We worked out together in the morning and then it was just another relazing day on the beach! Chris didn't sit outside with me that day because he got burnt the previous day but he did come out to eat lunch with me.  I just relaxed and read a book, which was so nice because as much as I love to read, I've been so busy I hadn't had a free second to pick up a book. We went to dinner at the Japanese Steakhouse on the resort and it was delicious.  It was a little different tasting than the ones back home but great.  I even tried zucchini for the first time and turns out it was really good!  Also, the chefs are so entertaining, they sing and dance while they cook your meal and our chef made a heart out of the fried rice :) After dinner we took  a walk on the beach and came across a couple men with horses.  They were nice enough to let me sit on one of them! I love horses! When we got back to our room, Butler Dwayne had surprised us and decorected our room with candles and rose petals :) It was nice and romantic!

Day #5

Ahhh we enjoyed our morning on our little private porch by the pool and than ATVING through the jungles and mountains of Jamaica. Not my favorite day at all.  In fact, it was terrifying. Horrible. Worst excursion ever.  First let me just say that I have never ridden an ATV or had ever been on one.  Second, going 1200 feet on a moutain that has no trail just rocks and ditches is not the best way to experience ATVing for the first time.  The views once we got the top were breath taking, but of course I was too relieved to had made it up there alive to take any pictures.  And then it was time to go back down.  My legs and arms were incredibly sore from squeezing on the ATV for dear life because I was convinced that it was my time to die. Thankfully, I made it down the mountain alive.  And no, we did not stop to purchase any pictures during our excursion.  Chris will tell anyone that his only regret was not having a video camera to record the whole experience.  I other the other hand am extremely glad.  We returned to our room to have it decorated for us all romantically and we ordered room service, enjoyed a nice meal out on our porch and Chris was forgiven for talking me into putting that excursion on our registry.

Day 6
I went out and sat on the beach for a little bit in the morning while Chris worked out and recovered from the burn he got the other day.  And than another excursion...ziplining.  One would think this would  be a fun excursion; you're flying through the air just enjoying the scenary.  But, you are flying through the air at 1200 feet above the ground on a tiny little telephone cable. Not fun. I pretty much shut my eyes each time the leader pushed me off the safety of each platform and held onto my rope for dear life and once i reached the landing platform cried.  It was horrible. The worst idea Chris ever had.  Even worse than the ATVing. I seriously hated him in those 4 hours of my life. We went back to the Italian place for dinner than evening after stopping at the bar for some much needed drinks. Chris just thought the whole day was hysterical.

 Notice the leader LAUGHING at me.

Day #7

I wanted to do nothing but relax on the beach and read my book with a drink in my hand after the past two stressful days.  So I did just that.  Chris joined me once he finished working out.  And again, he did not wear strong enough sunscreen so he got burnt...again.  But, I had no sympathy for him.  If he's not going to listen to me,  don't complain about your burn to me.  Hahah! We got the photograhper to take some pictures of us while we were in the water which turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself! That evening we had planned a private candle light dinner on the beach.  That was such an awesome experience.  You're literally sitting a few feet away from the water watching the sun go down just enjoying the company of your loved one.  It was so nice.  A perfect way to end our perfect vacation.  I would highly recommend paying the extra money for that "excursion" if you ever go to a Sandals resort.  It was definitely well worth the money! When we got back to our room we had a nice little bubble bath bath and champagne waiting for us :)

Day #8

Our last day in paradise :( We went snorkeling in the morning which was so cool.  Stingrays were swimming all around us and we got to see all these really unusual, bright colored fish.  It was something I'm definitely glad we did and would have loved to do it more than once while we were there.  Snorkeling is one of the activities that is provided free when you purchase your vacation and they take you to a different spot each time.  Once we got back we lounged around on the beach until it was time for our couples massage.  and oh my gosh was it amazinggggg.  They take each couple into this huge room and right beside the beds is a bath tub filled with bubbles and warm water.  So, after you get your 50 minute massage they let you and your lover sit in the bath for 40 minutes and just relax together.  They also get you drinks from the bar before they leave you to relax.  It was amazing and pure relaxation.  It was definitely a perfect ending to our perfect honeymoon. 

So there you have it, a summary of our wonderful honeymoon!! Hope you enjoyed it!

Honeymooning

Ahhhh the honeymoon :) Our honeymoon was beyond amazing, I could not have asked for a better time together in a better place.  We choose to go to Sandels Negril (which is in Jamaica, about an hour from Montego Bay).  It was gorgeous every day; about 85 degrees and sunny.  We had perfect weather, not a single day of clouds or rain.  We truly lucked out.  The people there are so friendly and always happy.  And, they always called us Mr. and Mrs. Price which was a nice little touch :) It sounds so good to hear them call me Mrs. Price or to call Chris my husband.  We were there for a total of 8 days and 9 nights, which normally seems like a long time, but it was not long enough.  Neither of us wanted to return home. 

We had an amazing room.  It was one of their top rated rooms, called the swim up lagoon.  And it literally has a pool that you open your doors right to and on the other side of the pool is the beach.  Now, since we were in one of their top rooms, our section of the beach was more secluded than the rest of the resort, which I loved.  We were also assigned a Butler; another wonderful perk.  He set up our chairs, umbrellas and a cooler with drinks for us on the beach every morning. He also took care of all our dinner plans and brought us whatever we needed while we were on the beach.  We are  not used to this fact and the bar was only about 70 feet from our chairs so we tended to get up and get our own drinks...we learned very quickly they get offened if you don't use their services :) In fact, if they haven't heard from you in a couple hours, they call just to make sure there is nothing you need! Also, they would decorate our room every couple nights while we were out; make it nice and romantic for us for when we got back to our room.  They were amazing, so nice and friendly.  That was definitely a major perk of our vacation and was well worth the money spent!

Another pretty cool thing that we saw every day was sting rays, they swam right up to the shore every morning between 1030 and 1130.  They didn't bother anybody and no one bothered them.  It was amazing to see them so close.  They are beautiful animals! The sunsets there are simply breath taking every night.  They are gorgeous, there is no other word for it other than gorgeous. Every night they are different with amazing colors and the view of the sun setting is awesome! Even the one night when it was a little cloudy during the sun set it was gorgeous.

The view from our room....absolutely breath taking and very private; which was perfect for us!

Our beach chairs all set up for us for a day of relaxing in the Jamaican sun!

Our room decorated all romantic for us one day after we got back from an excursion :) What a perfect way to spend the evening!



Sting Rays!

I'll post more tomorrow about our excursions that we did while we were there!! Hope you enjoyed!

May 6, 2011

It came and it went. It was everything I expected it to be and that much more.  It was the best day of my life.  It was ab absolutley perfect day.  My wedding day. :) After all the planning and stressing about every little detail, I can not believe how fast it went! The entire day seems like a big, fast blur in my head! Everyone said it was a beautiful wedding and they had a really good time so I guess that means that all the planning that I stressed over for a year was well worth it.  But now that the wedding is over and we've gone on our honeymoon, I don't know what to do with myself. I used to be consumed by the wedding and everything that needed to get done for it, there was something that I needed to do every night but now....now what?!? My nights are free, ok well as free as they can be with two jobs and getting my work out one.  I'm not nearly as stressed as I was, which is good, but I feel like I should be doing something except that I have nothing to do! Is this normal, when does it go away?
And another thing, now that we are married everyone seems to want to know when we are going to start a family.  Even people who were flying with us to Jamaica as soon as they found out we were newlyweds they immediately asked when are you going to have children?!? Well people, I will have children when I'm good and ready.  Chris and I would like to enjoy our marriage for a little bit and the alone time that we do have with no responsibilites.  Also, he is deploying again in September, so we are definitely going to wait until after he returns to start thinking about having a family.  I am not ready to give up my date nights and nights outs with friends for diapers, crying babies and no sleep.
I don't have my professional wedding pictures back yet (and I'm anxiously waiting for them, hopefully by the end of this week) so I just want to share a few pictures that my friends have shared with you guys :) I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

My beautiful dress, anxiously waiting to be put on :)

Getting all beautified in my new "Mrs. Price " jacket :)

Walking down the aisle to go meet my husband...i don't think I could look any happier :)

Exchanging of the rings!

Our fist kiss as husband and wife :)

loooooved my turquoise shoes to match my bridesmaids :)

First Dance :)

Hope you enjoyed :) More to come!

Flowerific Cupcakes

Last Friday was one of my co-workers birthdays and as usual, I made her some cupcakes for her birthday.  I made homemade funfetti cupcakes with a lemon zest icing.  

For the batter:

• 1-1/4 cups AP flour
• 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 6 tbsp butter, room temperature
• 1 large egg + 1 egg white, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk (I used half-and-half instead)
• 2 tbsp rainbow sprinkles
• 24 Dum Dum lollipops
• Green taffy

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Line cupcake pan with paper liners.
3. In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a stand mixer, fitted with flat beater, beat the sugar and butter until well combined, about 2-3 minutes. Add egg and egg white, one at a time, beating on low.
4. Then add vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk in 2 additions, ending with the flour mixture. Fold in rainbow sprinkles.
5. Fill cupcake liners about 1/2-2/3 full. Bake for about 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire cooling rack before frosting.

** This batter only makes about 12 cupcakes so if you want to make 24 I would strongly suggest doubling the recipe! **

For the Icing: 

• 2 cups confectioner's sugar
• 6 ounces softened cream cheese
• 2 tbsp softened  butter
• 1 tsp fresh grated lemon zest

Direction: 

Beat confectioners’ sugar, cream cheese, butter and lemon zest with an electric mixer at low speed until well blended. Increase speed to medium and beat until smooth and creamy, about 2 more minutes. 

Once the cupcakes have cooled off, go ahead and frost them.  I then covered them with green sprinkles, stuck two tiny (dum dums) lollipops in each cupcake to make them look like flowers.  The final touch was adding a little green piece of taffy to each cupcake to look like a leaf.