Shark Fishing the Palm Beaches, Tips & Tricks!

Growing up so close to the water, or shall I say practically on the water has given me such a love and respect for the ocean. As beautiful as the deep blue is, it is a dangerous place, and must be respected. One of the very first lessons I ever learned from my dad was to listen to the signs the ocean sends you. Understand the warnings, stay away from the rip currents, and never push your comfort zone. Most importantly, respect the wild life, and NEVER liter. Throw back the fish you wont eat/ need. Always abide by the rules and regulations in regard to amounts and types of fish you can catch and keep.

South Florida is a magical place. As a native Floridian, I love my hometown. I love being on the water, and I love a good thrill. It is quite easy to find sharks in South Florida, and it is a thrilling experience all adventure seekers thrive off of. We can recreate our very own shark week at any given time throughout the year. The warm waters are a breeding ground for the scary  creature, and you can find them almost anywhere. Shark fishing can  be a very long and rigorous process. My husband and father fought long and hard for 45-60 minutes to pull in their first shark. As you can imagine, they are STRONG & MEAN. They will take your bait faster than you can think to give your rod the first tug.

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Living in a Summer Wonderland: Picnic Island, South West Florida!

Picnic Island is a gorgeous little place only accessible by boat just before the Sanibel Island bridge. I spent the day there with co-workers and enjoyed every second of it. One of the many wonderful things about living in Florida, is having the flexibility to enjoy fresh ocean air, sand between your toes, and warm ocean waters whenever you want! Life gets so busy and stressful these days! It is so important to take a step back and breath in all that life has to offer. Whether it is taking the time to be a tourist in your own town or visiting your favorite lunch spot over and over again, we have to strive to make the most out of this beautiful life we have been so graciously given. If we don’t, what is the point of living at all? Live it big, live it full, live it with people you truly love.

During season, Picnic Island is swarmed with tourists and locals alike looking for that middle of the ocean, islandy feel. You are not only guaranteed a fantastic picnic with great views, but you are right smack dab in the middle of a 3 in 1 ecosystem. Like I have stated so many times before, SWFL is an incredibly interesting place. We have beautiful sugar sand beaches, and not to far from that we have panthers, deer, bob cats, and black bears patrolling our forest like marsh! Within the 3 in 1 ecosystem, you have access to great views of the water and sandbar, mangroves and swampland, and trees you thought only existed up North. Enjoy our beautiful day venture through this fabulous island!IMG_4549 Read more

Weekend Adventures: Key West, Florida

Key West is a fabulous, yet historic place. Many of my childhood summers involved road trips to the Florida Keys. I have created great memories there, and was so happy when my best friend, Ally, called to tell me we were celebrating her 24th birthday in Key West. Me, along with 6 girlfriends, made our way down the East Coast of Florida, across the gorgeous Seven Mile Bridge, to the the very last key to celebrate Memorial Day and our very best friend! Without a doubt, Key West exceeded our expectations, provided a platform for us to laugh, reminisce, enjoy drinks, great food, and tan our sun-kissed skin. We went to our favorite bar, Flying Monkeys, and rented beach cruisers to get us around the island. We stayed at The Palms Hotel, (stay tuned for reviews below) a very small bed and breakfast, and explored the quaint culture of this old Florida city. There is so much to do and see in Key West it is almost impossible to accomplish it all in one weekend!

The first stop on our long trip down the coast of Florida led us to the beautiful island of Islamorada, where we enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Tiki Hut, a wonderful little gem with great views of the crystal clear water and awesome live music!

The views were absolutely wonderful!
The views were absolutely wonderful!
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This guy was extremely talented! I can’t get enough of islandy music. Bring me a mojito and some steel drums any day of the week, and I am there!

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A little piece of South West Florida

South West Florida is one of those places whose hidden gems will transform your whole experience of this quaint little place. The problem with it is, you have to know where to go at all times. You have to look for the hidden treasure, but once you find it, you always want more. If it isn’t completely obvious by now, the ocean drives me. It lights a passion in me that I cannot express. I am a complete and utter beach bum. There is something so fantastic about salty hair and sun-kissed skin. I just love everything about it. I love being a Florida girl. I love being blessed with the ability to sink my toes in the sand at any time.

I pretended to be on vacation this past week. I encourage everyone to be a tourist in your own town. You never know what you will come across! Plus, it is quite fun! Although pretending, I had a great reason driving my imagination. Sean’s family was in town visiting from Pittsburgh, and vacationed with us. We went out to dinner every night, enjoyed the perfect weather, and had so much fun catching up. This blog post will showcase our weekend from dinner at Nervous Nellies on Fort Myers Beach, to bar hopping the classiness of the good ole FMB, all the way down to a beachy pool day in Naples. We had sunshine, drinks, and great food. What more could you ask for?

If you haven't tried Nervous Nellies, I highly recommend you jump in your car and go right now. The views are great, the live music is fun and tropical, and the food...oh my god....the food is FANTASTIC. The menu is gigantic! It takes 15 minutes to figure out what you want. The portions are huge, and will leave you will leftovers the next day. Try this colorful place out. You wont regret it.
If you haven’t tried Nervous Nellies, I highly recommend you jump in your car and go right now. The views are great, the live music is fun and tropical, and the food…oh my god….the food is FANTASTIC. The menu is gigantic! It takes at least 15 minutes to figure out what you want. The portions are huge, and will leave you with leftovers the next day. Try this colorful place out. You wont regret it.

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The beauty that is West Palm Beach, Fl & the Amazing Mother who lives there!

Hi Love Bugs,

I AM HOME. I AM HOME. I AM HOME. I love being home, and HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to all of the amazing moms out there! I was born and raised in West Palm Beach, and it is truly one of the BEST places in Florida. The weather is sunny and warm, it is on the East Coast so you have beautiful blue waters, there is a ton going on, and it is close to Miami if you are craving that true metro feel. There is so much to do here–from beach life to shopping to night life, you can constantly stay busy. There is also a big boating community down here as well, and no surprise, I grew up on a boat. In fact, my first word was “pescado” (fish) in Spanish but I probably said it more like “pe-cao.” I have a deep passion for the ocean as if you didn’t know from this blog. The East Coast of Florida is known for its beautiful sunrises. I woke up early this morning to catch some photos on my GoPro, and boy was it a treasure. We found a gorgeous bluish purple jellyfish (yes, we have jellyfish here) and a capsized boat. I feel sorry for the owner. Genuine rookie mistake. The East Coast of Florida is also known for their huge Cuban community, and being from a big Cuban family, we had to stop at the Cuban bakery and pick up fresh Cuban bread, croquetas and pastelitos. DELICIOUS! I can’t find good Cuban food anywhere in Fort Myers! PS. Happy Mothers Day to all the wonderful mothers out there. I know I treasure and love the heck out of mine. Also, check out the flowers from my parent’s garden! The purple orchids were taken from my grandpa’s garden, but nonetheless, we were able to make a wonderful floral arrangement. Northing like home grown flowers! They are so beautiful.

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Hands down one of the most beautiful jellyfish I have seen in Florida in a long while! #GoPro

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Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, Fort Myers, FL

“In all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous!”-Aristotle

DSC_0822The Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve is such an incredible hidden gem in SWFL. It is 3,400 acres of wetland that measures 11 miles long and 1/3 miles wide. It is home to many animals, reptiles, insects, and soon-to-be endangered species. I visited this wonderful Fort Myers treasure with a friend from work, and during our journey we put together a wonderful gift for her husband. Below you will find a bunch of photos from our day. During our trek, I used my Nikon D3200 and Joby Gorillapod SLRZoom. Read more