2017

Welcome back to For the Love of Coffey! I have to admit, it has been a fun and stress-free December not having to blog during this SUPER crazy, busy month. I thought about doing a post here & there, but I literally had no time at all. So I decided to take the entire month off to focus on my finals, graduate from college, and spend time with family and friends during the holidays all while working a full-time job. Talk about exhausting this month has been, but every bit of it has been amazing. So here’s a recap on 2016 – and some 2017 resolutions…

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Wow! What a year it has been, 2016 definitely felt like the fastest year of my life. I feel like I was just writing my blog post { 2 0 1 6 } just the other week. Personally, this year was a great year for me, there’s been a couple ups and downs, but whose life is perfect?! Let’s take a walk down memory lane…

• Rang in 2016 for the 7th time with the love of my life
• Traveled to the beautiful city of Charleston with one of our favorite couples
• Traveled to New York City for 8 days with 16 random girls from the University of Florida, who ended up becoming more like a fam… they are absolutely wonderful and I am so happy I had the opportunity to meet all of them (Oh and we got to touch the New Years Eve Ball- good luck maybe?!)
• Turned the big “2-4”, can I just stay this age forever?! ahhhhh
• Traveled to Los Angeles with my lover
• BEING PROPOSED TOO AT THE TOP OF GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY IN LA (my favorite!!!!)
• Loving every minute of being engaged and wedding planning
• Found the PERFECT venue for our wedding
• Found the PERFECT dress for our wedding
• Lots of pool/lake parties
• Traveling to Palm Coast and vacationing at our venue for 4 days
• Taking my last final ever
• GRADUATING FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
• Bringing in 2017 with my fiancé ❤

Broad St.

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Just a few noteworthy things that happened this year that made it the best year yet… I can’t wait to hit 100% on the wedding planning, but I have to admit I am enjoying every second of it. I am so happy now I get to focus mainly on it now that school is done. For. Good. Some resolutions for 2017 because, you know, the new year wouldn’t be right if we didn’t have any…

• Staying calm while wedding planning & while getting closer to the wedding
• Exercise more, eat healthy (less pizza & cookies, y’all)
• Take care of my body, you only get one
• Blog, blog, blog – I have so so so many ideas for you all, I can’t wait to share!!
• Enjoy being engaged and don’t rush anything
• Travel, travel, travel – we are still up in the air about our honeymoon so any recommendations would be great
• SHOP less, SAVE more – words a blogger never want to hear
• Be the best person I can be to everyone around me because no one is guaranteed tomorrow

Photo Compliments to Amy Renee Photography

SO CHEERS TO 2017!!!

May all your blessings be answered and dreams come true ❤ I am so so so excited to see what this year has in store for everyone.

K xx

 

My Favorite Beauty Bloggers

If you’re a girl and you are into reading blogs/blogging, then you know the feeling when your phone buzzes with that e-mail that one of your favorite bloggers just went LIVE with a new blog post. I get absolutely thrilled! I love reading their content or seeing their new photos on Instagram. It gives me inspiration for my own blog and the person I want to become. They are so fun, inspiring and so full of life that you can’t HELP but LOVE them!

 

My absolute FAVORITE blogger ever is Emily Ann Gemma with The Sweetest Thing. I literally follow her on everything, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and of course her actual blog. Her style is my style. She wears the cutest outfits, has the best handbags, and can’t forget her adorable little pup, Fitz who stars in most of her snaps. Her blend of beauty, travel, lifestyle, and fashion is the perfect mix to any blog. Her home decor and how she decorates her house is to die for, it makes me want to sell everything in my house and start from scratch. Oh and her PERFECT PERFECT hair!!!!

 

My next favorite blogger is Caitlin Coving, author of Southern Curls and Pearls. I also follow her on many social media sites. Caitlin and Emily (Blogger above) are actually friends and hang out a lot which is adorable to me. Like Emily, Caitlin has a super cute, preppy style that I absolutely love! I watch these girls snapchats and pretty much consider them “friends” because I can relate to everything they are talking about. Funny, right?!

 

The last blogger is actually a new one, I recently started following Katey McFarlan, author of Chronicles of Frivolity. Her bright, outgoing personality is inspiring, and I love reading her blogs. I only follow Katey on Instagram and of course, her blog site. Like Emily, her home decor is gorgeous and inspires me to redecorate. She also has a super cute pup that I am obsessed with. Her style is more simple with cute statement pieces.

 

I know everyone has a favorite blogger, so who is it? I would love to know, so I can start following them. New inspiration is always a good thing. 🙂

xx K

 

 

| 20 | Things Every 20-Something Should Know How to Do

As I have just turned the magical number of 21, I mean 24, I have realized there are things that are essential to know at this time of our lives. In your twenties, you make mistakes, learn a lot, you love and experience heart break, you move out and on your own(if not, sooner), you get married and start having babies, you quit jobs/apply for jobs, you find your niche. Like I said, so many things happen in this decade than any other 10 years of your life.

In the four short years I have had in my twenties, I have learned quite a few and I am here to share these things with you… some of you reading this may have surpassed me in what you know how to do, and others may have not gotten here yet, but all of these are essential, I promise you.

#1 – How to Save Money

It is extremely important you learn how to save money at a young age. This doesn’t mean you need to have $20,000 in the bank, but a good $2-5,000 is a great start.

#2 – How to Cook

You’re at a time in your life where you are considering moving out, maybe with roommates or by yourself. It is not acceptable to eat frozen dinners and pizza every night.

#3 – How to Parallel Park

In my time at the University of Florida (or any college at that) you have to learn the skill of parallel parking and if you don’t, you’re k i n d a out of luck. This is a very important skill to learn if you haven’t already.

#4 – How to Hold a Conversation 

You’re in the process of graduating college and interviewing for positions in a big corporate office, you need to be able to hold a conversation with twenty somethings and with baby boomers. If you are not quite at this part of your life, you may be trying to obtain an internship, or just a college-job while finishing up courses.

#5 – How to be Alone

During this stage of your life, it is important to know you can be and hangout alone. You need to become independent. Especially for the ladies, while it is nice to have our man around, you need to know you don’t have to depend on them.

#6 – How to Take Responsibility for Your Actions

Sometimes this step takes time, as it is hard to take responsibility for stupid mistakes, but it has to be done. If you make a mistake, own up to it. No one SHOULD be judging you, because every single person has their mishaps.

#7 – How to Tip

As a waitress myself, this is a big one for me. I feel like you should learn this from the time you start going to restaurants by yourself, not by your twenties. Handing out $2 does not mean tipping… for every $5 you spend, leave $1. So if you spend $25, leave $5 if the service was great. { SORRY FOR THE MATH LESSON }

#8 – How to Stop Comparing

Twenty years into your life, you should realize that everyone is different. There is always going to be someone more athletic, skinnier, prettier, healthier than you. That doesn’t mean you’re not a beautiful person inside and out so you need to stop comparing!

#9 – How to Exercise 

This has taken me a while, but I have finally found something that helps me and makes me feel like I am getting the most out of my workout. It may take time for you as well. I quickly realized the gym is not for me, I would rather do my at-home workouts and save the $25 a month.

#10 – How to Trust Your Gut

If you have a feeling something isn’t right, it probably isn’t.

#11 – How to Be Nice

Just because Sassy Sally took your man back in the 10th grade, doesn’t mean you can’t be friends now. Let go of all past grudges (because really, who has time for all that), and just be nice. No, you don’t have to hang out with these people, but don’t trash talk them every time you hear their name. It makes you look…..not your age.

#12 – How to Keep Friends

Yes, in high school we have different friends every 4-6 months until you find your niche, and by the beginning of college you have a whole new set of friends. College graduation rolls around and its completely different again, but by this time you start meeting the people that are going to be around for the long haul.

#13 – How to Prioritize 

What’s more important? That pool party at your friends or Grandma’s 91st birthday. I’ll let you choose.

#14 – How to Love 

This takes a while… every one loves differently. People need to realize that relationships take work and commitment whether it is with a significant other or friends. They are reciprocal, and if one person isn’t doing their job, then it will probably not work out.

#15 – How to Listen

In life, you need to learn how to truly listen to people because like I said above, if the relationship isn’t reciprocal, it won’t work out.

#16 – How to Travel

THESE ARE YOUR YEARS TO TRAVEL! Once you start having babies, traveling is do-able, but 100% harder. Why wouldn’t you want to see what this world has to offer? It makes people so much smarter and wiser, and it gives you the ability to learn and respect other cultures.

#17 – How to Take Care of Your Body

I hate when people have the attitude, “I’m in my 20s it won’t hurt my body.” Keeping your body healthy starts at a young age. In your 20s, you become accustomed to the lifestyle you live through the years and it will follow you to your 30s, 40s, etc. So know what you want to look like now when you’re 50, and take care of your body so you can achieve that goal!

#18 – Tame Your Social Media Use

No one wants to hang out with people who are constantly on their phones. I feel like hanging out now-a-days is talking to each other on a Facebook post while you’re sitting right next to each other. In your 20s, you want to form relationships with people who can put their phone away and have a conversation.

Oh and you do not have to put every single thing on Facebook. Honestly, no one cares what you ate for lunch or if you are cleaning your house.

#19 – How to Self-Improve

You should always want to improve yourself. Whether it be learning a new activity or reading more. It helps you find yourself and become a better person. I promise you will thank yourself later.

#20 – How to Set Goals

Are you still with me?! My goal was to have all of you read all 20 of these. If you did, please like my post. I set goals for myself daily and sometimes I reach them and sometimes I don’t. It is important to know you can reach them though. 🙂

 

 

More importantly – KNOW HOW TO HAVE FUN! You are only in your 20s once, so live it up and love generously!

 

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram: 

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♥ Kristin xx

 

\\ West Coast Lovin’ //

So one of Lane and my favorite things to do is travel. We love the thrill of getting on a plane or in a car and going to a different place. We checked California off of our bucket list last week and it was absolutely amazing. We were there for a full 60 hours before we had to board our flight back home. We flew into LAX Thursday morning and that is when the adventure started….

We started our trip with In & Out Burger and it was delicious!!! ( Sorry for the snapchat screenshots 😛 )

Our first stop was the Griffith Observatory which had killer views of the city and mountains. If you are in Los Angeles, I definitely recommend coming here. You can take 30 minutes or up to 2+ hours… we spent about an hour here because it is where Lane proposed. You can see that blog post here.

We ended the night there, because I was such on a high of being proposed to that we left the Griffith Observatory and went to a restaurant, valeted the car, put our name on the list, and sat down. After 3 minutes I looked at Lane and was said, “Let’s just go to Subway, grab a sub and buy some wine and sit out on the patio and talk!” I just wanted to be with him!

So the next day we started at Santa Monica Pier, which is super busy but a MUST!!! I love the vibe and atmosphere of Santa Monica, you have the beach on one side with the carnival on the pier and an amazing view of the mountains. Of course I had to get photos on Melrose Ave. at the most famous instagram spots. 😛 Afterwards, we met up with some friends and went out to some fun, crazy bars. It was great!

 

The next day we hiked the Santa Monica Mountains which was one of our favorite parts of the trip. Literally 9-10 miles round trip and about 4 falls. Yes, I fell and it was hilarious. The views were breathtaking. We went up to the highest peak of the mountain at 3,111 ft. You could see the beaches of Malibu as well and it was awesome!

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The remainder of our last day was spent in Venice Beach to see the canals, Malibu to see the sea cave, Beverly Hills to walk along Rodeo Drive, and the Grove to ,of course, shop. Yes we had to fit as much as we could into the last day because I was not leaving California without crossing everything off my list. Here are pictures from the rest of the trip…

If you have ever been to California what is your favorite thing to do? I can’t wait to go back. Definitely one of my top places!!!

Kristin xx

Lane & Kristin’s California Proposal

Ahhhhh it still feels like I am living in a dream, until I pinch myself and look down at my left hand… and yep, it’s still there. Definitely not a dream, and it’s 100% real. Getting engaged to my best friend over the weekend in California was honestly the best day of my life. He has had it planned out in his mind for the last 2 months with a ring, and I had absolutely no idea, and if you knew me, that’s amazing.

I shared a story with howheasked.com and if you want to go read that, you are more than welcomed, but I was going to share the same story on my blog as well. 🙂

So for those of you who don’t know how Lane and I met, here you go:

Lane and I met when we were 16 years old. He moved into my small town in 2008 and was the new kid in school. He played soccer with a lot of my friends and that is when he first caught my eye. I, of course, had seen him around a couple times after in between classes and was wondering who the new soccer cutie was and being a girl, I needed more details about him. Since our town was so small, it wasn’t hard to find out. 

After school let out in the afternoon, the cool thing to do was go to Mcdonald’s to get fries and a milkshake. One day, my best friend and I rode up there and when we walked in, Lane was there with a couple of mutual friends. So we struck up conversation and I decided this was my chance to finally introduce myself to “the new, cute, soccer kid.” Well, when I did his response was not what I was expecting. He looked up at me right in the eye and said, “Wow, you have the most gorgeous eyes.” I kind of melted at that moment. 

Finally, we started talking and hanging out. About two months after the Mcdonald’s introduction, we started dating; which by the way he asked me out at Mcdonald’s too (I know, but remember we were 16). Now seven years later, we are still as inseparable as we were in high school (just more mature) and starting this exciting, brand new chapter in our lives. 

 

Finally, after 7 years, how he proposed:

Since we started dating back in 2009, California has always been on our bucket list. I’ve been before, but Lane has never seen the west coast; so for his birthday last December, I decided to surprise him with plane tickets to Los Angeles for a couple days. I planned the trip for May 2016 because that was my summer break in between semesters for college. 

Little did I know, as much planning as I was doing with the rental house, car, activities, etc, he was also planning a proposal. Months flew by, and it was finally May and we were so excited to head to the airport. I was so clueless about his plan, I had no idea he had an engagement ring in his carry on the entire flight. When we arrived in Los Angeles, our plan was to head to the Santa Monica Pier to ride the ferris wheel and watch the sunset. Our plan was ruined by rain… and I heard it rarely rains in LA. Lane had a second plan, thank goodness. 

Plan B was to ride up to Griffith Observatory and see the city lights and watch the sunset. By the time we got there, the rain had cleared out and we were able to see miles out. It was absolutely breathtaking. I told Lane I wanted him to ask someone to take a picture of us, and he insisted on handing the camera over. When he asked the lady, he told her to take a lot….. I turned around to walk to the spot where we were taking the picture and when I turned back around, Lane was getting down on one knee with a BOX. I was shocked + excited + nervous + in love, I don’t even remember what I said to him. All I wanted to do was hug and kiss him.

Finally, when I snapped back to reality, I noticed all these people up on the balcony clapping and cheering for us. The next three days we were in California were the most amazing days filled with adventure with my fiancé. It was really a dream come true and I wouldn’t want it any other way. ❤

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There you have it! He proposed on the first day we were in California, so the last couple days we had the time of our life. He wasn’t nervous or stressed out anymore…. 😛 This mini-vacation was really one for the books, not just getting engaged, but the entire trip was everything I wanted + more. I am forever going to be loved by this man, and I am so excited for this lifetime of adventures. We are more than perfect for each other and I am so happy I found the one who loves me for me.

Sorry for this overly sappy post- but come on, you knew it was coming sooner or later.

Thank you for reading, and if you want to check out more photos from our trip, click on over to my insta page – For the Love of Coffey

Kristin xx

+ Summer State of Mind +

While it’s not technically summer yet, but it feels like it in Florida with a high of 90 degrees today. Ninety degrees and last time I checked, it’s still April. So naturally, to me, it’s pretty much summer all year around and I don’t mind one bit.

Today, I wanted to share with you three things on this blog. A bright, outgoing blouse for a hot, summer day, a self-tanning mousse for the fair skinned people like me, and a fun outfit for a pool day. I have been using the self-tanner for quite a while now and I absolutely love it and would recommend it to anyone. I don’t like to tan in a tanning bed and it takes me FOREVER to tan when I am laying outside, so most of the time I have to resort to self-tanner.

Bright, Outgoing Outfit: 

Jeans Shorts | Hot Pink Blouse |Brown Lace Up Sandals |

Match this outfit with some gold jewelry and you’re good to go to lunch with friends, a summer bbq, or walking around downtown. Super comfortable and bright 🙂

Self-Tanner Mousse:

St. Tropez Self – Tanner | Tanning Mit | Tory Burch Sunglasses

Fun, Pool Day Outfit:

Bathing Suit Top | Cover Up  | Floppy Hat

I linked the store I bought the cover up from, but I believe it is sold out online. This outfit is so simple, but stylish for any beach or pool party you attend.

Is everyone ready for summer to begin like me? It is definitely my most favorite time of year ❤ Beach bonfires, bar-b-q’s, and endless adventures.

Kristin xx

50 Things That Make Me Happy

As Monday is right around the corner, I challenge everyone this week to write down 50 things that make them happy. Most times when I scroll through social media, I constantly see negative posts and people feeling sad about certain situations. Well, I want to turn that around. Even if you don’t have a blog, I still challenge you and then if you want, share with me either in a public post or a private message. One of my favorite things is to see people happy about their path in life. I am so excited to share the first 50 things that come to mind that make me the happiest. 🙂

 

Here it goes:

1. My family means the absolute world to me and I can always count on them to put a smile on my face
2. My boyfriend knows how to make me the happiest girl in the world
3. My puppies who are really my furry children
4. Traveling 
5. Succeeding in college
6. Graduation approaching soon
7. Scented candles being in every room in my house
8. A clean house makes for a happy girlfriend
9. Exercising and maintaining a healthy diet (with an occasional cheat day)
10. Shopping – I have a problem
11. New makeup/clothes
12. Sunrise/Sunsets on the beach
13. Beach days/nights
14. Sleep
15. Road trips with friends/boyfriend
16. Taking photos (and not iPhone photos)
17. Fresh fruit ❤
18. I have a new found love for avocados, they are delicious with anything.
19. Coffee. Any type: coffee cake, iced coffee, hot coffee, expresso, cappuccino, latte. Doesn’t matter. I love it
20. Starbucks, right now my obsession is Peach Green Tea Lemonade and Mango Black Tea Lemonade. If you haven’t tried them, please stop what you are doing and go
21. Hiking and exploring
22. Long summer nights with unforgettable friends
23. Florida Gators
24. Very cliche of me, but pizza. I am always in the mood to eat some cheesy, greasy, pizza — I save that for my cheat days
25. Rainy, cuddly days spent watching movies
26. Dancing
27. Blogging
28. Manicures/Pedicures
29. Baking cookies, brownies, banana nut bread, muffins, cakes, you name it, I make it
30. The Harry Potter series…. still have yet to watch the very last one /:
31. Zac Efron in any movie he plays in, always a smile on my face, he is just the cutest
32. Smell of fresh laundry ❤
33. Christmas
34. Brunch with my girls
35. 3/4 Champagne + 1/4 OJ — (goes with #34 brunch) 
36. Music
37. Job searching and networking
38. My friends who have become family
39. Clean sheets + which I am currently laying in
40. YOU reading this 🙂
41. Taking my bra off after a long, hard day
42. Date nights with my boo thang, we always have a great time together
43. A good makeup & hair day
44. Knowing that I have the Lord in my life and the fact that I can turn to him whenever, wherever, and with whoever ❤
45. When my to-do list is finished, rare but happens
46. A good book
47. Wine nights with my gal pals
48. Decorating my home especially after looking at all my favorite bloggers home tours and decor
49. Fresh flowers
50. This blog, whether it turns out to be serious or not, I love the fact that I have a space to put my thoughts and advice for people. It makes me happy and that is all that matters. ❤

There are many + things that make me happy, like netflix or little cafe’s but I was only limited to 50. Like I said, I challenge everyone reading this to come up with 50 things that make you the happiest and if you want, I would be HAPPY if you shared them with me! 🙂 ❤

 

Have a great and positive week!

Kristin Xx

2016 Pt. 2

“I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m on my way…” With college graduation around the corner (7 months), I have the slighted clue where my final destination will be or the exact career path I want to take and that’s a scary thought. There are so many ideas of jobs that interest me, it is so hard to just choose one. Help me, please?! 😛

 

Where did the time go? I feel like I was just writing my blog { 2 0 1 6 } just yesterday. It has been 4 months and a couple days since the start of the new year… and that is why I have been stressing about something happening in 7 months, because I feel like it’ll be here before I know it. When I wrote my blog { 2 0 1 6 }, there were a couple things I was going to work on starting with myself, my relationship, and then family+friends, school, and work. I just wanted to write this blog to inform all my readers how those things were going. It is hard to change a lifestyle all at once when you’re so used to the norm.

Well, I jumped out of my comfort zone last month and succeeded. I flew to NYC (no parents or boyfriend) with just 2 friends and it wasn’t bad at all. I paraded around the city for 5 days with 16 girls, and had the time of my life. It took me three months to start working out… every beginning of the week “something” would come up and to be honest, I’d make up an excuse to “start the week after.” I purchased the work-out program by Kayla Itsines, a 24 year old from Australia who has a killer bod. Her workouts literally have me dying, so I recommend them to anyone. One thing that I stuck with since the new year was eating healthy. Of course, I have days where I eat pizza and cookies, but I have really cut back. I’ve been eating more fruit and vegetables.

Friends wise, about the same. There’s people you trust in life and people you don’t. It is around my age where you should figure out who is who, and question if you need them in your life. If people can’t be there for your struggles, they don’t deserve to be there for your accomplishments.

With my relationships…. hmmmm.. never better! Lane and I have a great relationship, we know how to communicate well with each other and we have an infinite love for one another. We have traveled a little bit this year so far, we spent the weekend in Charleston with 2 friends which was a blast and he also met me up in NYC for 4 days! Taught him the ropes of the city 😉 we also leave for California in 1 month so that will be an exciting trip.

I’m sure you all have noticed I haven’t been blogging that much lately… it’s because I’m taking a full load of courses (which by the way I am doing GREAT in school right now…) and I’m focusing more on my studies so I can better my GPA. If you want to do better in one thing, sometimes you gotta give up another for the time being. So I apologize, and after this semester is over I’ll have more time on my hands.

 

5 things I want to start doing during spring/summer:

1- getting ready more (not looking like a bum) HAHA

2- oil pulling (you WILL see a blog about this in the near future)

3- laying out (i’m tired of looking like casper… a cute casper though)

4- spend less money on shopping

5- SAVE more money!

 

If you made a new years resolution, but haven’t started it yet.. You don’t have to wait until next year to start it. Every day is a new day… START TODAY! No one is stopping you. I encourage you to try something new once a month, I promise you won’t be disappointed. ❤

 

Love to all. Xxo – Kristin ❤

Eight Days in NYC

Hi loves! It has been a while since I have blogged, but I promise that will not happen again. I just got back from spring break last week and I had the best time EVER. It was different than normal, no bikinis, no beaches, and no suntanning. Instead, I traded all that for snow boots, coats, and scarves. I spent eight days in the city that never sleeps, yes, you heard right, NEW YORK CITY! Instead of going day by day of what I did, I am going to highlight my favorite moments from the trip. 🙂

 

Schmackary’s is all about cookies and let me tell you- it is YUMMY!! All the cookies are baked fresh daily, and there is such a variety including “the kitchen sink”. I would recommend Schmackary’s if you have a big sweet tooth like me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My next favorite part of the eight days was Sunday morning brunch with all the girls. We went to a place in Greenwich Village called Village Prime and it was DELICIOUS!!! They have a special, $19.95 for your entree and AUCD mimosas or sangria. For the city, that is a deal of a lifetime. I will definitely be back when I visit again.

 

 

Biking through Central Park. If you haven’t worked out in a while (like me), good luck! It was so much fun, but so many uphills you have to bike. I thought my legs were going to give out on me a couple of times. :-O

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Tuesday, we went on top of the Empire State Building. It was such a BEAUTIFUL day outside to do it too. You could see miles and miles of city, absolutely breathtaking. With 16 girls, you know this called for an hour photoshoot (even with the security guards.)

 

Okay, so we may or may not have went to a few different dessert places. A few of us girls had a BIG sweet tooth. Plus, the night we came to Max Brennar Chocolate Factory is the night we say KATY PERRY!!! Ah, we were on such a high for a few hours. Pictured here is: S’mores Sundae, Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Crepe, and Heart Lava Cake with Ice cream and shot of expresso. So YUMMY YUMMY! This place is heaven. I would definitely recommend it!!!

 

 

Of course, I had to get my macaroon fix at Maison Laduree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was a pretty cool experience. I had the opportunity to go up 22 floors and see the NYE ball. It was beautiful and HUGE. Definitely exceeded my expectations and something I’ll never forget!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FINALLY IT SNOWED!!! After 5 days of perfect weather, my parents and boyfriend come up for the weekend and it SNOWS. It was enough to make everything wet and FREEZING, but made for some good pictures. 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite memories of the trip was the 9/11 Memorial. It was heartbreaking. They had real footage and audio in the museum and it was just horrific what those people went through that day. A day we will never forget. ❤

 

 

You know I had to do the obligatory Gossip Girl photo at the “Met Steps”. Love that my boyfriend was a good sport and took it with me. 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An absolute MUST if you are in NYC. Black Tap Burgers!!!! There is one in Soho which I don’t recommend because the restaurant is literally an alley, but there’s one in meatpacking district as well and way bigger. It is still a good 45 minute wait to get in but absolutely worth it. These milkshakes were beautiful and delicious. Best $15 EVER!!!

 

 

 

 

 

To finish off the trip, we walked the Brooklyn Bridge which was a great last view of the city!! So sad to leave the city, but glad I am home safe & sound. 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This trip was definitely one for the books, I met a lot of great girls who will be lifetime friends and places I had never been before. My boyfriend finally got to experience a “real” taxi experience. I am glad to be home, but can’t wait until my next adventure! 🙂 Hope you guys have enjoyed my favorite memories of the trip as well.

 

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48 Hours in Charleston

My boyfriend and I went to Savannah, GA for Christmas two years ago, and absolutely fell in love with the city. The stunning old buildings and amazing stories that went along with them were truly eye-opening. When I heard Charleston, SC was a sister city and was even prettier than Savannah, I knew I had to go. We finally had the time to take off so we packed our bags and spent the weekend. It is about a 4 hour drive from where we live in Florida, so it was the perfect distance for a 48 hour trip. We picked the most beautiful-est weekend to go too, the weather was great! We arrived in Charleston around dinner Friday night, so we grabbed some food and headed to our condo to get some rest for some exploring the next day.

 

Downtown Charleston is amazing. There is so much to do, and so much to see. The buildings are colorful, bright, and so beautiful. We started off our morning at Charleston Crab House with some mimosas (for the ladies) and beers (for the guys) and heavy appetizers such as Crispy Calamari, Southern Fried Green Tomatoes, Crab Cakes, and Bacon Stuffed Shrimp. (Sorry, I have no photos to share of the “crab-a-tizers”.) After we fueled up, we started exploring.

Charleston Crab Shack

Waterfront Park

Pineapple Fountain @ Waterfront Park

Broad St.

Angel Oak Tree – 1500 years old

After a long day of walking around, we returned to the condo and ate pizza (nom nom). The next day we visited the Magnolia Plantation & Gardens which was gorgeous. Along with the tour of the plantation and gardens, they had a maze and a petting zoo. (My camera died, so these photos are from my handy-dandy iPhone.) 😛

 

I seriously cannot wait to go back to Charleston, the overall ambience of the city is truly breathtaking. Such a romantic place to hang out for the weekend. I am planning a trip during the summer so we can hit up Folly Beach while enjoying the city as well. It is only a few miles away from downtown.

Anyone have any places they love in Charleston? I would love to hear all about your experiences. 🙂

Follow me on Instagram ~ For the Love of Coffey

{ Personal } ~ Kristin Coffey

 

Xx- KC ❤