Ahh,
  Finally got another good beach day in! I honestly do not know how anyone could complain about living in Florida! I mean come on It is the middle of January and its 79 degrees outside!!!! Sorry to everyone who loves the cold but this beach bum does not. Anything below 75 is a no no for me especially when the water looks like this!

How could you not just want to take a nice refreshing dip in the ocean?!?! Anyway Sunday was a funday as it always is with my man. We got a lot done this weekend and finally had some time to relax and take the dog to the beach! Ronnie enjoys taking the dog so he doesn't have to sit and watch me look all around for shark teeth :) but it is nice to just spend time with my loved ones and get some doggie exercise in lol

As the boys decided to play some fetch I figured it was the best opportunity to get away and start my hunt! So I looked around and found a nice area with tons of shells! Now with tons of shells I literally get down and dirty, like butt in the sand or on all fours lol. I really really look hard for these shark teeth. I found a rather small but very colorful tooth! I picked it up and figured I could take a picture for my instagram, since everyone knows I take A LOT of pictures and post A LOT of pictures! As I go to take out my phone I drop the shark tooth... I was so upset. At this point Ronnie and Bear are walking over towards me. They sat down next to me as I literally sat in the same spot for 15 minutes looking for this tooth again.. Yeah I didn't end up finding it :/

I was pretty bummed at this point since it was the only one I had found so far so I figured I could just keep walking and hope I find at least one more. So my journey continued. Now at this point I started walking ahead of Ronnie and Bear but since I tend to stop every foot and look for teeth I didn't even realize that they both left me :(

So I wondered over to another small patch of shells and BAM I found another small shark tooth!! I was so happy but not happy enough to leave lol So once again I continued to walk and stop and look and walk and stop and look. As I finally decided that I should probably catch up to the boys I looked down and say something to look like a shark tooth but more like a shell. I bent down and picked it up only to find it be a rather large shark tooth. Honestly one of the biggest ones I have found here on of our local beaches. I was soo happy! I know it may seem lame but hey this is my blog and my hobby :D

Now I wrote before that I always find beach glass. Always seems to be brown but I do 9/10 times find some. But I did think this was a pretty cool picture of the glass before I picked it up. There is just something about the sound of the ocean and breeze in your hair that makes me relax more than anywhere else.
Now if only I had some girlfriends to explore with lol But thanks for reading and feel free to share any awesome beach combing stories you may have!

Peace be the journey :)

  This week has not been the best for me. Early Monday morning I woke up sick. Last night I decided I needed some me time to just relax in a nice warm bath. About a week ago i placed an order for my first Pearl Bath Bomb and let me tell you I was not disappointed at all!! I must say the package is ok and could have been a little cuter but overall not bad!

  So I got the Sea Goddess as you can see! It smelt amazing!! I haven't bought one in so long so I figured I would treat myself to one with a little surprise inside haha

I also lit some incense to help with relaxation! Since I have started to change my life around a bit I found that meditation is a great relaxation tool and I felt this was a great place to do it! The sweet smell of the bath bomb as well as the incense was a good combination! 

Now I have to say with some previous bath bombs they smelt good but never really wowed me. This one though made my skin feel so soft and smooth! Honestly made me shave my legs so they could feel smoother lmao.

But this really was a great first experience with this product and you should totally try it out! Now sadly the ring I got in mine was only worth $10 but hey it's pretty!

https://pearlbathbombs.com/

  What a busy, busy week at work this has been! Coming back after having almost a full week off is always crazy! But I must say I enjoy being a dental assistant. Most people just think I sit and hold a suction all day but there is way more to this job than people think, but we can save that for another time.
  Considering it was a rough week I did have time to make some delicious smoothies and smoothie bowls! Growing up I was always the heavy friend, the ugly friend, the unhealthy friend. When I was about 16 years old something in my head clicked  and I stopped all fast food and all soda! I admit I have had fast food since then but I have not had a sip of soda since the age of 16 and I do not miss it at all. In 1 year I lost 60 lbs!! Some say that's not a lot but for me it was the best thing! I hated being heavy my whole life and I will never forget the first time I was made fun of.
  I was in 1st grade and on the truck during P.E. A girl had said how fat I was and from that point on I was made fun of every year but many different people. High school was the worst... Growing up with all beautiful friends all the guys liked and then there was me.. I was the girl who had all the guy friends but non of them liked her and always liked her best friends. It was really hard.
  Ever since I lost 60 lbs I am so afraid to gain weight. Yet I did gain weight back because the weight I was at was just not healthy and I looked sickly. But again I am very unhappy with myself. I have slowly been trying to transition to being vegan. I have never really liked red meat and have almost cut it all out of my diet. I do admit I eat chicken but again I am trying to slowly cut it out.
  One easy meal for me to have was a smoothie bowl! There are so many different options and it is by far the most refreshing thing I have ever eaten. I actually look so forward to eating them!
  I try to mix different fruits together to see what tastes the best!

  This smoothie bowl I made tasted amazing! It is a mix of frozen strawberries, frozen bananas, mango and frozen blueberries. I added a little of water and used my Nutri Bullet to blend it all up. You don't want to add too much water to wear it's like a smoothie but you want to make it almost like an ice cream consistency. Now I don't do too much for toppings but I have to say when I add low sodium almonds into my mix it tastes amazing! Something about the fruit and almonds mixed just tastes great! As for the granola I usually use organic french vanilla granola from Publix. Once you add the granola and mix it , it actually socks into the fruit and oh em gee does it taste so so so good!!
  Now you can literally add whatever you want to your smoothie bowl but for some reason almonds and granola just go with any fruit! I have actually used honey, raw cacao nibs and even coconut flakes. But again it all depends on your personal preference.
  As for the Nutri Bullet I admit it is not the best for making a big bowl of smoothie but it does the trick.  A vitamix blender is more what you would need but sadly I can't afford one right now lol.

  Also I always have people asking me where I got my bracelets from! And I must say these bracelets are amazing. I actually never take mine off and they have so many super cute styles! If you use my code you can get 20% off any order! My discount code is: NicoletteM20

http://www.lotusandluna.com/

NutriBullet: https://nutribullet.com

The correct blender to use: https://www.vitamix.com/Shop

Happy New Year!

   Wow I can't believe it is 2017 already! This year literally flew by for me. I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe new year.
   This past weekend was a big jump for me out of my comfort zone. I have been struggling with anxiety for about 6-7 years now and over time it has gotten worse. As I got older it just got worse. Yet many people do not know I struggle with anxiety or even the type of anxiety I have. Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. My type of anxiety may seem stupid to others but to me it is very real. It is hard living with this and I try to push myself has hard as I can sometimes.

   For me this weekend was a step. I went camping for 2 days at Itchetucknee Springs. Not only did I go camping but slept in a tent with little to no bathroom for 2 days. To me that just screams nightmare or even worse hell. I have always had a fear of not having a bathroom around me or in other ways (not having an out). Yes it sounds dumb and I know it is but it is a very real fear that I suffer from personally. Yet this weekend I actually had so much fun with my fiancé, family and great friends that made it worth it. Not to mention I had the best equipment there is and very smart friends who bring everything ahah.

   Props to Ozark Trail for making hotel like tents! First night was 29 degrees and was absolutely miserable (because I hate the cold) but the second night was about 50 degrees and much nicer. I have not been camping in about 18 years so this was like a whole new experience to me but with the help of everyone there it was good!

   The first day there my cousins and I got to the camp site about around 7:30 PM which kind of stunk because we could not see anything. Not to mention the back woods roads we had to go down. But the guys had everything already set and ready for us to relax and enjoy. That night we sat around a warm fire and just talked and shared stories with each other. As the temperature started to drop I started to freak. For me my body seems to not handle cold well. Anything under 70 degrees and I am miserable and cold. I am not a pants and long sleeves girl what so ever. Yet again because of my amazing fiancé he comforted me and I made it through the night. Frozen but I made it through.

  The following morning we woke up and had breakfast. My cousins husband made eggs, bacon and pancakes. As the temperature for the day started to rise we all agreed me wanted to go down the Itchetucknee river and just relax. My fiancé and I opted for a canoe since I love them and everyone else enjoyed the freedom in their own kayaks. When I say it was one of the most relaxing things I have ever done I promise you it was. Just going down the river with the flow of the water and seeing all different types of nature was simply breathtaking.

 

   I apologize for the sleepless/makeupless face, I mean hey we are camping lol. It took us around 2 1/2 hours to go down the river. Some of the best few hours of my life! I may be a primadonna at times but nature just soothes my soul and makes me not have a care in the world. Once we got back to the camp site we sat around and just enjoyed each others company while chowing down on no other than the best! Publix subs! I mean come on if you live in Florida you have to love publix just like everyone else.  After we ate I set up my hammock and just relaxed.
 

Again props to Grand Trunk for making such a great hammock! Most comfortable hammock to hangout on while camping! My cousins husband even took a nice little nap in it! 

As the dark started to settle in the camp ground informed us they would be having a large bonfire with the whole campsite as well as a raffle. A 60/40. Of course we decided to go and have some fun. And of course with my bad luck of never winning anything, my fiancé and I left empty handed. While a good friend won the second prize which was 40% of the earnings and my cousin and her husband won the third prize which was from the owners and ended up being a free two night stay at the camp ground. Yet we didn't win I was happy to see some of the greatest people I know win! And it was still a fun time by the fire.

After the raffle we headed back to the camp site and hung around till 12. For us that was a struggle, considering we are all a bunch of old people and love to be in bed by 10 lol. Yet we had a camp site a few over do a few fire works which was nice to see.

A very different way to bring in the new year but it was one for the books! As well as a step in the right direction for me to kick anxiety in the butt!!

Sorry for rambling on about my weekend but I mean hey this is my blog right? :)

Feel free to check out some products we used to make this camping trip amazing!

Hammock: http://www.backcountry.com/grand-trunk-ultralight-hammock

Tent: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-8-Person-2-Room-Instant-Cabin-Tent/42120623

Campground: http://www.ichetuckneespringscampground.com/

Aloha beautiful people!

   This is my first post on my new and upcoming blog! I have found that nature is where I am happiest, and I am the happiest on or by the beach. I am starting this blog to share my love of the beach, collecting beach treasures, my photography as well as smoothies and smoothie bowl recipes!

   Let me start by saving today was perfect! My fiancé and I spent the day around St. Augustine. We started our day at the new St. Augustine aquarium. It was not very big, but for $8 it wasn't bad at all!

 

   I got to see one of my favorite sea animals which is the Sea Horse! Small but amazing creatures! Did you know that seahorses prefer to swim in pairs with their tails linked together? Or that few marine predators eat the seahorse? I must say they are pretty magnificent little things!

   After our aquarium experience we went to Saint George street and walked the town. Or course I had to go buy some little things for myself because it is my favorite place to shop!

   Well my fiancé knows that my favorite place to be is the beach. Even though it was raining out we went to the beach and waited for the rain to stop. Perfect time to beach comb! I have to say it was perfect. Not only was it calm and not raining anymore but it was also low tide! ( perfect time to comb for shark teeth) As I get on all fours like a crazy person the fun starts. I don't know why I find beach combing so much fun, but I have to say the passion probably started from going with my mom when we first moved to Florida. My mom and aunt used to take my cousins and I all the time. Well I guess the passion never died. When I went as a kid we mostly would just look for shells and beach glass. Looking for beach glass became too easy so as I got older I started looking for shark teeth.

   I actually will never forget the first shark tooth I got. I was very young and my grandpa gave me this big great white shark tooth. I don't remember where he got it from but I never got rid of it. growing up I used to look at it and just think, Wow this came from a big a** shark lol. As time went on I started to really love looking for shark teeth. I would look up new places in Florida to search and my Fiancé and I started going to different beaches all along the Florida Coast.

   Today wasn't the best for finding my little mermaid treasures but I did get a few good teeth. Yet I don't know how my Fiancé always finds bigger teeth then me, makes me mad haha. No but the high I get from finding a shark teeth is amazing! And it is super addicting!!

   Like I said we didn't find much today but it was still exciting! Sadly after our little beach adventure today we did not do much. But we did eat some pretty darn good Macaroons that we got in St.Augustine.
   Well I guess I will wrap up this first blog since today there wasn't much to blog about! :)