Social Graces: wonderful weekend

I am back from a wonderful holiday weekend full of fun in the sun and family {mostly Marcus's family...but they claim me and I claim them :)} and friends galore. I was able to leave Tallahassee earlier than my estimated countdown on Thursday afternoon but not without going through yet another storm, but we won't go there. Let's just say I despise Crawfordville. Shortly after making my turn west onto scenic highway 98 I saw the water but more importantly the sun. Hello vacation! Sister and Marcus rented a house on the beach with Hillary and Jason for the week and they were so kind to include me. It was a house full of two lively young families and moi, Aunt Sister as Owen and Harris joined in on calling me :) We all had a ball!

On Friday me, sister, Sally Kate, and Hillary met Lane and Camp for lunch at....The Owl, no surprise there! We splurged and ordered anything and everything that struck our fancy and it was divine. We also laughed a lot and had a surprise visit from Marcus - just in time to eat what we couldn't. We also went to the newest shop on the block in downtown Apalachicola The Green Door. It did not disappoint. It was fab-u-lous and featured a local artist's paintings, fun jewelry, and vintage lagniappe. {Thank you Lane and Hill for the pictures...I forgot my camera on Friday!} We also enjoyed a relaxing late afternoon on the beach and then a bay-side party.

Saturday brought the 4th of July and the half birthday of yours truly. As mentioned before, I do a lot of sleeping on vacations. So as everyone prepared for the big island parade I was still comfortably content in my pjs. Come one {literally, you could just enter yourself}, come all - the annual SGI 4th of July parade was in full swing. We decorated Jake's truck and all of the little cousins piled in to wave, throw candy, and shoot water guns at the crowd. SK was left with me as we finished our morning nap and then she and I joined the gang on the sideline just as the family float drove by. As far as I knew the parade was right outside our front door...but no one told me it was a block in front. So there I was - pjs, glasses and all - walking down the sandy street with baby in tow. At least I had on shoes.

We spent another leisurely late afternoon {my favorite part of the day} at the beach. Thanks to the Dunhams for the provided tent/shade! That evening we went to join the rest of the family for a low-key celebration. In years past, the Randolphs have hosted a huge 4th of July party including tons of food and a dj. This was after all where sister and I met Marcus, Hillary, and Jason 6 years ago. And we've been celebrating the 4th with their family ever since. We ended the night watching fireworks off the beach on our balcony.

Check-out time on Sunday was 10:00am so I packed up and headed out. I was going to be darned if I got stuck in the midst of bad weather again. So I said farewell and made my journey home. I'm not sure when I'll be back but I can tell you that there's a wonderful article on Apalachicola in this month's issue of Southern Accents.

In other news, yesterday I received approval to register for the NCIDQ exam to become a licensed professional interior designer. The test is the first weekend in October and I.must.start.studying.

And just to let you know the kind of frazzled day I am having...I just stuck my black pen, not in its proper catch all mint julep container, but my full glass of water. oops.