Enjoying the Island of Costa Maya!

The first few photos are of the Costa Maya Port, which we bypassed and hopped on the shuttle to Tropicante. There was a nice sitting area around the swim up bar and lots of great eating spots. If you just want a pool day or are on a tight budget, I could see this being a nice place to just chill and read a book or maybe do a little port shopping. Our first option was to visit the Chacchoben Ruins but we knew that it was going to take up so much time and we only had so much allowed time before heading back to port. Maybe next time!

The shuttles to Mahahual are further out of the port, past all of the shops. The tickets were $3 per person and the open air trolley was very nice! If you walk even further down, you can grab a taxi for only $2 per person.

I had done quite a bit of research on where to visit in Mahahual; it had been years since our last visit. I finally decided on Tropicante because I had read great reviews on Trip Advisor and found out that it is owned by Steve from America. I emailed him before our trip and reserved 2 beach chairs w/shade. As soon as we got into town, one of Steve's employees came up to our trolley and had our names on a chalkboard sign and walked us over to the sitting area on the beach. Such great service!

The views were just amazing! The water was such a beautiful color of blue. It was so nice to watch the boats and people kayaking in the water.

This guy came by and sang an entire song for me so I tipped him a couple of dollars. I should have asked to pose with his sombrero!

The first thing that I did was order a margarita- pretty much my favorite drink! It did not disappoint; very delicious!

Later, we ordered lunch and opted for the Grande Burrito to share. It was a pretty big plate and all that we needed between the two of us. It was really fresh and delicious and the waiter was so nice and brought out extra chips for the salsa.

The hubby and I walked up to the Tropicante Bar and each had a shot of their 100% agave tequila. Some of the best tequila that I have ever had! It was so smooth that I didn't feel a heavy buzz/hang over after, which is always good!

 

We paid our tab and grabbed a taxi back to the port for $4 for the both of us. Our day in Costa Maya was really amazing! We are hoping to explore some more new spots on our next trip. Comment below if you know of any more great spots that we should check out!

Where is your favorite spot/thing to do in Costa Maya?

Winter Getaway!

We are leaving for Mexico in less than an hour!!! I'm currently up at 3:00 a.m. enjoying a latte and finishing up this blog post. I am so excited you guys! We have been working extra hard this year trying to finish house projects, so it will be nice to have a week-long break. We will be visiting both Costa Maya and Cozumel- we have been to both, but it's been a while since we last visited.

I am looking forward to catching up on some kindle reading, writing in my journal and hopefully get some clarity on my business/career for the upcoming year. I have been so overwhelmed with my business that I really need some time to just step away from it all and do some soul searching about the direction that I want to go. And let's just be real, I am especially looking forward to some sun and tropical drinks on the beach! I will be back soon with some photos to share!

What are some of your favorite spots in Cozumel & Costa Maya?

2016 Goals Accomplished + 2017 Goal Setting!

2016 Goals Accomplished:

Travel
Cruised MSC Cruise Line for the first time in May
Had couples facials at the cruise spa
Went paddle-boarding for the first time (& most likely the last time because I was so scared that a shark was going to pop out of the water, so I didn't really enjoy it)
Went on a catamaran with free flowing margaritas/beer
Went to the beach 2-3 times
Visited St. Augustine again
Visited Disney Springs- went on the hot air balloon ride

House Stuff
Bought new weed trimmer, pressure washer for the home
Ordered Surround speakers & installed in ceiling
Bought + installed butcher block in laundry room
Ordered new woven blinds online & put up in bedroom
Had concrete poured on both well-house and garage
Hubby designed new retaining wall with flowerbed by garage entrance
Cleaned out garage- can actually fit 2 cars now! Made $1K + selling things & + donated to Goodwill
Finished painting exterior rafters
Finished painting exterior hardi-siding + trim
Worked on Landscaping- planted crepe myrtle trees, fruit trees, trimmed around all trees, put down pine-straw around flowerbeds
Hubby installed hood vent in kitchen
Put up interior window trim & painted
Painted 5 interior doors
Bought new furniture- coffee table, buffet table, TV stand, European clock, bedroom mirror, living room mirror, 2 living room end tables
Made over IKEA bedroom stands with new pull handles
Purchased new pillows for living room & new dinnerware
Cleaned out my closet & got rid of lots of jewelry, shoes and clothing since I work from home Consigned & made over $200 this year

Business
Published 3 books on Amazon
Started a new Book Club on Facebook
Collaborated on a live Facebook Marathon for a top business leader
Applied for some new virtual work & submitted 2 video interviews (got out of my comfort zone creating videos of myself!!)
Learned how to design a Square Space Website from scratch
Created styled stock photography & opened a store on Creative Market
Created a free opt-in & grew mailing list
Grew FB Business page
Re-branded entire business
Began writing 2 more books- hope to finish in 2017
Updated my LinkedIn + Resume
Learned much more about social media scheduling, accounting systems & lots of other geeky stuff!

Blog
Had a blog makeover!
Grew my FB Blog Page
Designed new email banner for blog inquiries

Health
Discovered Bullet-Proof Coffee + Golden milk
Eliminated soy, gluten, dairy, eggs, stevia & any organic products with sneaky additives

Spiritual
Learned to trust God even more
Prayed over my anxiety and God delivered me of it!  I now hand over all of my problems to God and don't worry about them anymore!

Self Improvement
Set better boundaries with people
Eliminated more negative people out of my life/personal space

Miscellaneous
Purchased Amazon Prime
Costco Card Renewal
Found a new organic market- Lucky's Market! My new favorite store!
Purchased newer car/better on gas
Sold Suburban
Sold Lake Lot + buyer agreed to pay 2016 taxes! (prayed over this & God blessed!)
Visited Aldi's for the first time and actually liked it! (our closest one is in Jacksonville)
Bought a replacement Keurig + Kcups
Helped Brother on his new house + made some extra money
Won an amazing $50 Gluten Free Giveaway package from Canyon Bakehouse

2017 Goals:
Finish up house projects (well-house, kitchen back-splash, trim, fire-pit, stain concrete, garage walls, a/c cover, landscaping)
Travel more, work less! (Use up free plane tickets)
Enjoy weekends more doing local things
Keep praying about my business vs working for another company
Goal Weight/Tone up
Grow nails
Have professional photos done

I was so busy this year as you can see! I really just want to slow things down next year and enjoy life more. I'm so done with being busy all of the time and I just want to enjoy our new home and have more travel and adventure.

What did you get accomplished this year?

Our 7-day MSC Cruise

We are back from our 7-day MSC Cruise and we had the best time!

Nassau, Bahamas
We visited the Straw Market, took the taxi to Atlantis to Paradise Beach and enjoyed the sun and water for a while. We had planned on getting a couples beach massage, which we normally do every time, but they were already busy, so we decided to just enjoy the sun a little. Later, we headed back to Atlantis and visited some of the cute shops behind Atlantis and also the gorgeous yachts and marina by the restaurants. We walked around and took some photos and headed back to the ship. We had to board at 1:30 so it was a fairly short day.

San Juan, Puerto Rico
Old San Juan is always my favorite stop. The first thing we did was stop at Starbucks to grab a coffee and look at the map. We go here often, so we wanted to try something different. We ended up finding a secret scenic area by the water that goes all the way around the El Morro Fort. There were so many Iguanas everywhere. We took lots of pictures and then headed towards town to find Barrachina's- I had read all about their amazing Pina Coladas. They originated at Barrachinas, so I figured they had to be amazing! And I was right, they were the best Pina Coladas that I've ever had in my life! The bartenders use almost 3 shots of rum per glass and the hubby and I shared 3 large drinks and some grouper fritters- I was definitely feeling relaxed. My husband liked them so much that we walked all around town to find the same rum that the bartender used and we finally found it and purchased 2 different Puerto Rican Rums to use at home.

We also visited Pigeon Park where you will find hundreds of pigeons and you can feed them. I chose not to because I saw a girl almost get attacked when she had food in her hand (no thanks!). My husband did go in and I stayed outside the gate and observed. One pigeon ended up landing on his shoulder and sat there for the longest time. It's also by the waterfront, which is really beautiful. From there, we did a little bit of shopping and I found a nice white dress to wear to dinner. On the way back to the ship, there was a long line of local vendors who sell their wares for a living. I found a sweet little old lady selling shell bracelets, necklaces and other things. The hubby and I chatted with her and ended up buying matching shell bracelets and headed back to the ship.

Phillipsburg, St. Marteen
We opted to take the water ferry over to Great Bay Beach. They had so many cute little shops and bars/restaurants. We visited Diamonds International where my husband almost bought me a pair of diamond earrings. I just wanted to look at the jewelry and enjoy myself, but the salespeople were so aggressive that it turned me off from wanting to purchase anything. They even tried to bribe us with a private open bar upstairs at the last just to get us to purchase some jewelry. I had to make the hubby leave because he really wanted to buy them for me, but I was just so ready for the beach. Maybe next time, some place where they aren't so pushy. Thanks, but no thanks. I was so happy to get out of there! We also had to leave early this day so we bought a Guava Berry drink from the bar and sat on the beach for a little while. It was nice to have a view of the cruise ships in the near distance. The beach was loaded with these tiny little shells. The hubby helped me collect a few to bring back home.

We really enjoyed the Cruise Ship as well. We ended up purchasing a couple's 1 hour facial on the third or fourth day and it was amazing! By purchasing the facial, it gave us access to the thermal spa which we enjoyed for about 4 days in a row.

I also loved that MSC Cruises offers the option to purchase the smaller drink/beverage packages. We had purchased an 18 alcohol package plus a 15 coffee beverage package. It ended up being perfect for just the two of us. We tried every tropical drink on the menu- pina coladas, Miami vice, mojitos, daiquiris, sweet and sour,tequila sunrise, Jamaican rum drink,Mai tai. Dinner was also amazing- lobster, escargot, scallops, shrimp, surf and turf. The desserts were out of this world- tiramisu, baked Alaska, cheesecake. Which is why I gained almost 10 lbs! Also, their pizza and pastas are all hand-made and so amazing! We watched the chefs hand-roll the pizza dough, add the toppings and bake it in the pizza oven. The pizza was so good! There were several nights that we grabbed a slice for a late night snack (and sometimes, a plate of dessert as well).

Now, we're back home and I've started a new exercise routine with the hubby. We are doing HIIT workouts. We started yesterday and did only 20 minutes and it was amazing! We also plan on getting back on gluten free, soy free, low sugar and mostly dairy free eating plan. I'm pretty sure my body is in shock from all of the sugar, dairy, alcohol that I consumed for 7 days!

It's so nice to be back home. Now I'm just catching up on laundry, we just had gluten free waffles and chicken sausage for breakfast and are getting ready to get some things done! Have a lovely weekend!!

Where are you going on vacation this year? I'd love to hear all about it!

Top 10 Reasons that I'm looking forward to cruising the MSC Divina!

So remember how I blogged about how I pretty much skipped my birthday this year and also didn't even celebrate publishing 3 books on Amazon? Well, I will be celebrating very soon on a cruise! This will be my first time cruising on MSC. We have been on every cruise line except for this one!

I thought I'd share with you the Top 10 Reasons that I'm really looking forward to this cruise in particular. So, are you ready to hear my 10 Reasons?!

TOP 10 REASONS THAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO CRUISING THE MSC DIVINA!

1. Because it's a gorgeous ship!! 

photo via Flickr

2. This will be our first time in a balcony room!!

photo via cruiseone

3. The Swarovski Staircases. What girl doesn't love Swarovski crystals?

photo via travelzoo

4. The pasta is home-made. What?! I don't really indulge in pasta at home, but you can bet your butt that I will be eating some on board the MSC Divina. 

photo via jillsgreatescapes

photo via travelzoo

5. I've read reviews that the pizza is amazing! Again, I don't eat pizza at home too much, but I definitely am looking forward to trying their pizza. Did I mention it's an Italian ship?

photo via MSC Cruises

photo via MSC Cruises

6. The amazing Desserts!!

photo via MSC Cruises

photo via tipsfortravelers

7. The Nutella Crepes on board. I have never had a Nutella Crepe but it sounds divine!

photo via MSC Cruises

8. The gourmet coffee- espresso, please! I'm assuming because it's an Italian cruise that they have to make amazing Americanos and espressos right?

photo via MSC Cruises

9. Relaxing by the pool & reading my books! There are five pools on the MSC Divina!

photo via MSC Cruises

10. Tropical Drinks, of course!

photo via cruise critic

I'm so excited for this cruise! I personally love cruises because they are so easy to plan. All of the food, drinks, excursions are in one place, so all you have to do is buy! We opted to purchase a coffee drink package (includes 15 coffees) and an alcohol package (includes 18 drinks) since we aren't big drinkers. I love that MSC offers the coupon vouchers instead of the huge drink package! I'm counting down the months + days!!