To say that July was busy would be a HUGE understatement. The Month of July had to have been one of the busiest months I’ve had in a very very long time. It was filled with so many trips and memories made and I can’t wait to tell you all about it! I will try and keep the stories as condensed and short & sweet as possible for your sake, because there is just too many details to go over.
Lets start with Trip Number one! The good ol’ southern state of Alabama! We finally were able to visit my husbands brothers family whom we haven’t seen since our wedding almost 4 years ago 😣 We had an awesome trip going to this beautiful lake called lake Martin. It was huge and the water was so warm. We had a whole family day out of the lake tubing, wakeboarding, and wake-surfing which was so much fun! We Spent the Fourth of July eating good food and partying all day. I think we had the biggest firework show that I have even seen done that wasn’t like a city show. It was insane the amount of fireworks that were lit on fire. Also, Did you know that you can white water raft down the Chattahoochee River? Well I certainly didn’t and we had an absolute blast! Who knew you could find class four rapids down south! The whole family went on a 3 hour raft trip and it was something to remember for sure! I’m pretty sure the River guide flipped my mother in law off the boat on purpose and it was hilarious! Also, trying to keep my niece and nephew from sliding off the side of the boat was not an easy task. It was so good to see my niece and nephew and my my how they have grown. I hope that we can make another trip down to the south again soon 😊
Trip Number Two! Okay so three days after we return from Alabama I head to my hometown, Fort Collins for my sisters bridal shower/ bachelorette party. I ordered these special made cookies for the party and we had handmade soaps from a local shop as the shower favor which turned out so cute! If you ever have a chance to visit downtown Fort Collins you should definitely go to the Elizabeth Hotel in Old town. It is an autograph collection hotel with so many beautiful features around every corner. We ate brunch at the Emporium on the main level which was delicious! I was so happy with how the event turned out and I hope that my sister loved it too!
Later that day my sisters MOH had a whole day full of events for all the girls around town. We did this really fun escape room which was too cool because we all used to wait Target for when they released the newest Nancy Drew PC games back in the day. We crushed that escape room! I thought it was super hard too and I’ve done a handful of them over the years. We got to wander around old town a bit and then we had dinner reservations at RARE Italian. They specialize in handmade pastas and dry aged steaks, I had the most phenomenal ribeye it was butter in your mouth good. We each kinda order something different so that we could try all the things on the menu which was a lot of fun. The final piece to the day was a paint and sip where we painted a northern lights landscape and had drinks. All in all it was a great day celebrating my sister!
Trip number 3! JAMAICA! 🇯🇲 Corbin and I got to spend a week in the most beautiful villa I have ever seen, celebrating my Brother in-laws 40th birthday. We stayed at this place called The Tryall Club. All I can really say about the trip is WOW it was incredible and we are so blessed and fortunate to have the opportunity to travel and do the things that we do. Villa Lolita is a stunning mansion on the beach of Jamaica. It was breath taking and I can’t really explain it and pictures really don’t do it justice. The main infinity pool was amazing and where we spend most of our time. Our room had its own personal pool and the part I loved the most about the house was everything opened to the outside and there were no screens And Get this, there were like no bugs either which was really weird. The Tryall Club is a prestigious island club where you can golf and play tennis etc. The first day the boys played golf and the ladies had a group deep tissue massage, which by the way, was by far the best massage I have ever had in my life.
We had a planned itinerary for the entire trip and each day had something special to do. We rented a private Catamaran and went snorkeling in the Coral reef! We saw some amazing fish and it was neat to be so close to them. The boat dropped us all off at Margaritavile downtown Montego bay, where we played in the water like kids going down a waterslide into the ocean and having fun! I will say that walking around Montego Bay is not something I would recommend because you get swarmed by the locals asking you if you want to buy drugs or a hooker etc. It was my first experience in a 3rd world country and so needless to say I was a little intimidated. Thankfully we had a group of 10 and we all stayed together wherever we went but for the most part we went right back to the club and spent all of our time there.
I would say another perk of the trip was the full staff. Our Private Chef was Phenomenal he made us 4 course meals 3x a day!! Like wow! The fresh seafood at dinner each night was outstanding. He really was an amazing chef. Our Butler Orville was too sweet and was so helpful. Corbin became best buds with him after all the Rum and punch he made us. Each meal Orville had a new table and place setting with different plates cups silverware everything. It was all just beautiful and so nice to be pampered. The swear our house keepers were so sneaky one second we would be in our room and the next the room was completely cleaned. They did our laundry and had turn down service too. I can’t recommend Villa Lolita Enough.
Trip Number 4: Camping and Hiking a 14ner. The weekend after we got back from Jamaica we went camping and hiked Mt. Shavano. I am not much of a hiker but have always wanted to hike a 14ner. It was raining almost the whole time which kind of made it not so fun but the beautiful wildflowers made up for it. We went hiking with my gym crew and I most certainly would not have done a 14ner without them hahaha. my boss made me do it!
Trip number 5: Cheyenne Frontier Days – Blake Shelton Concert. Me and my bestie had a girls weekend up North. We went to this cute winery for happy hour called Sweet Heart Winery. It’s located on the River and has such a nice seating area along the water. We drove up to Cheyenne Wyoming for the concert and had a great time. Gwen Stefani came out and sang some songs which was awesome! We had so much fun!
All of these trips were just in the month of July! Like whoa that’s a lot. The crazy part Is that the fun didn’t stop after July because August was just as Cray too!
Now I am sure you have all been reading and getting sick of me blab on and on about my life and all you really care about is the good part all my favorites. Which I am sorry that it has been so last minute but as you can see I have been a busy bee! so without further a-due I give you my monthly top five for the month of July.
Top Tote Magnet: If you are a hat lover like me, then you need one of these amazing little gadgets. Do you ever wish you could take your hat off and not worry about setting it on the ground or carrying it with you and leaving it somewhere? This little guy is a lifesaver! I am always wearing some sort of hat in all different styles and I love that I can attach my hat to my bag without having to worry about it. It is a very strong magnet that doesn’t dent or ruin your hat. I took my huge Lack Of Color straw hat to Jamaica with me and this was attached to my carry on and my hat stayed safe, didn’t get crushed, and I didn’t have to wear it on the airplane the whole time. I love the sleek look of the leather and I chose black so that I could match practically every bag that I own. If you like hats you gotta get yourself one of these because its a game changer.
Travel dryer: When you have really long hair a blow dryer is kinda a must have on your packing list. Some places you stay have them and some don’t so you never know when you will need it. My mother in- law had this one when we were traveling one time and she let me borrow it to dry my hair and I made goo goo eyes for it because it was so cute and tiny but packed a big punch when it came to power and heat. I love this little thing one for the fact that it’s tiny and two because it works great!
Raspberry Rooibos tea: In old town Fort Collins CO there is this little local tea shop called Happy Lucky’s. It was my chill spot in college and they serve the best loose leaf teas. They have this huge bookshelf filled with teas of all organic imported teas from all over the world and they call it the Great Wall of tea. It is literally such a neat place and I missed it so much when we moved away. I always try to make a point to stop by to stock up on all my favorite loose leaf teas because once you go loose leaf you immediately become a tea snob and tea bags are just not good enough anymore hahaha. This time I decided to get a few ounces of a new tea that I have not tried yet. I wanted a tea that would taste good hot or iced with a raspberry flavor and man this hits the ticket.
Summer salt swim suit: Each summer I like to get at least one new swimmie just because why not!? I asked around on the Instagram who were some of their favorite swim suit companies and Summer Salt was one of them. I do not like too revealing or too modest of bathing suits but I don’t want to look like a granny either. I have the hardest time with those bikinis that are basically a thong 😂 like not to toot my own horn but I have a decent booty and I don’t even wanna see that bahahahah. These swimsuits are stylish and very well made, you can just tell the quality of the fabrics is well worth the money you spend. I refuse to buy cheap swimsuits because they pill, fall apart, fill with sand, fit funny etc. I have found that these fit TTS which is great because it’s online only. Shopping for a swimmie online is hard but I know my sizes pretty well and I’d say it’s TTS. I typically wear a 2 or depending on the company a 0/25. I like my swimsuits to fit comfortably and not be too constricting so I ordered a 4 on the bottom and a 2 on the top. This may also Depend on the styles too.
Ipanema sandals: Finding the perfect pair of sandals for the beach can be tricky, especially if you are trying to pack lightly but still wear something that is multipurpose and can be worn with other outfits too! When searching for a good afforable pair of sandals that could go from getting wet and sandy to going out to dinner I reached out to a Insta Friend Hannah Benak @looksandmerit, she had mentioned that her go to are these Ipanema sandals and that she had several pairs. So naturally I ordered a pair and I knew there were perfect the second I put them on my feet. Stylish and cute but I could get them wet and sandy without worrying about ruining them.
Well My friends I don’t think that I could write another sentence without boring you to death. I hope you somewhat enjoyed me babbling on about my trips this past summer and just wait they keep coming so you get to hear all about my other summertime adventures too! Please tag me or let me know if you ever try any of my favorite products out. I only share the things I really enjoy or love and my hope is that you will enjoy them too.
Happy adventuring friends!
-Shayla
BuffBabes 