Hello everyone.  I love the beach.  When I was younger I grew up living a minute walk to the beach.  Every day during the summer I would be there with my siblings, friends, or cousins swimming and having fun just trying to get the best tan.

Each year after I had my daughter we would take our family vacation to the Jersey Shore and stay on Long Beach Island.  We stopped taking our vacations there when Hurricane Sandy hit back in 2012.  The house we used to rent for the week was damaged and destroyed by the hurricane.

Over the many years, we have stayed in different motels and rented different houses on the Island.  We've stayed on the bayside and on the oceanside.  When you have a house or motel on the ocean you can just walk a short distance and be on the beach.

I really missed the beach vacations we used to take and we finally decided to start them up again last year.

Last year we stayed at a cute motel called the Sea Horse Motel that is located in Beach Haven, New Jersey.

Sea Horse Motel

The motel was nice and clean but we had to walk across a big highway to get to the beach each day.  I tried to book us into a motel located right on the ocean but the motels were all booked up.  I had waited too long and late in the season as you need to start booking a reservation in the winter.  I was happy when this motel was available and it was our first time we ever stayed there.  We had to take a short drive to get to restaurants, stores, and other attractions.

We still enjoyed ourselves and had a great time going to the beach each day, swimming in the pool, and going out to eat at different restaurants each night.





This year I made sure to call and make a reservation in May (which is kind of late too).  The three motels that are located right on the ocean side are the Sea Shell Motel, the Engleside Inn, and the Coral Seas Motel where we stayed this year.  They are all located in Beach Haven, New Jersey and in the heart of all the main local attractions.

I tried getting us into the Sea Shell Motel or the Engleside Inn but they were booked up.  I tried the Coral Seas Motel and we lucked out as they had two rooms available the week we wanted.

The Coral Seas Motel was lucky and not damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.  It's a cute motel that is located right on the beach.  It's clean and the decor reminded me of the 80's with yellow, white, and brown colors on the outside of the motel and the beach chairs by the pool.  The owner and staff were also very nice and pleasant.

We were lucky and they had two rooms right next to each other on the first floor that overlooked the pool.  The pool water was so nice and warm to swim in after we spent our long days on the beach.

We were gifted with a huge basket filled to the brim with goodies for our beach vacation from my daughter's friend who came on the vacation with us.  Her mom made the beautiful basket shown below for everyone to enjoy.

It was filled with so many awesome things such as a kite, sun hat, sarong, chips, chocolates, cookies, and other various snacks and goodies!!  We loved everything and enjoyed eating the snacks.




I couldn't wait to take a quick walk to see the beach and this was my view.  When I saw the beach and water I just knew we would all have a great vacation.





The motel is in a great location as it's a short walk to stores and restaurants.  On one of our walks, I saw this pretty sunflower.  They are one of my favorite flowers and they always remind me of August.





Long Beach Island is known for big old houses like the one below.  I love this house with all of the rocking chairs lined up on the porch.





There was even an old wishing well on the side of the property filled with pretty flowers.



Below is The Gables which is a famous Victorian Inn and fancy restaurant located on the Island.



This restaurant gets very crowded and it's sometimes hard to get a reservation for dinner.  We did not go there this year but we hope to try again next year.




It's a tradition for us to eat at a tavern called Buckalew's Tavern.  This restaurant is so popular and there is always a long wait to eat there.  We had to wait at least a half an hour which wasn't too bad.  To pass some time I visited some cute stores selling everything beach themed such as beach clothes, bathing suits, suntan lotion, beach chairs, and toys, etc.

This large restaurant has a fun atmosphere with live bands, a large bar area, and it also has a variety of different foods to eat.




I'm sorry I didn't take any photos of the food as we were all too hungry to eat dinner!  LOL!

And not so Wordless.


This is a photo I took last year of the Ferris wheel at Fantasy Island on Long Beach Island, New Jersey.





We spent the evening there last summer while my daughter and friend enjoyed some of the rides.  This is a fun small amusement park that families love to visit and play games and go on various rides.

Have you been on a Ferris wheel this summer or visited any amusement parks?



WHAT'S NEW:

Hey everyone, I'm sorry I haven't been around that much lately as I've been so busy with the end of the school year with two proms, graduation parties, and then this summer.

I still find it hard to believe that summer is at an end and soon it will be cooler temperatures and fall.  I'll miss taking long walks with Bosco (my dog), and looking at the pretty summer flowers in my garden.  I planted peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes but I was sadly disappointed to have squirrels attack and eat them all.  I think next summer I will stick to just planting flowers.

We did have a fun time at the beginning of the summer going to the beach for the 4th of July.  The beach was crowded but I was happy to spend most of the time swimming in the warm water.    

My daughter and I then spent the rest of the summer shopping for college dorm room items and packing it all up.  We had a fun time shopping and picking out various items and color coordinating everything with the colors of blue, white, gray, and aqua to match the room with her roommate.   Then we dropped her off at college last week which was all a success.


Some of you might have already seen this photo of Bosco on Instagram.  :)




We bought this cute dog college jersey for Bosco to wear.  I love this sad expression on his face and he will miss his big sister very much, and so will I.  :(

The next big project we are doing is replacing our roof with a new one.  We have been in our house a long time and do not want to run into any problems with a leaky roof anytime soon.

I also hope to have a blog post of my summer vacation to the Jersey Shore ready for you as soon as things settle down and are quiet around here for me.

I hope you all enjoy the rest of the week and weekend.



Click HERE to see the great parties I will be linking up to!


Julie

And not so Wordless!


This photo was taken last summer at the beach in Long Beach Beach Island, New Jersey.







We took our annual beach vacation again to the Jersey Shore recently.  I am hoping to do a blog post about our summer vacation there.  It's the one vacation that I look forward to each year as I LOVE going to the beach each day.  😎

I am not ready for summer to be over yet as this is my favorite time of year.  The only thing that I'm not enjoying right now is the rain, mosquito bites I've been getting when I take Bosco out for his evening walks or the 90-degree weather every day.  :(


Have you been to the beach this summer?

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy your day and the rest of the week.



Click HERE to see the great parties I will be linking up to!


Julie

Hello friends and Happy Friday.  I am back from my wonderful beach vacation to the Jersey Shore and I'm trying to get everything unpacked and all settled in.

In the meantime it's time for another Five on Friday post.

This time I decided that I would share with you five beauty items that I've been using and love.


1)  Nivea Skin Firming and Toning Gel Cream.

I love using this skin cream.  I have been using it for a few months on my neck and also under my eyes.

I know you are not supposed to use this cream for around the eye area but I'm very careful not to get it near my eyes or in them.  It is popular on the beauty YouTube videos I have been watching lately.
I figure it can't hurt using it on my neck and it will help to keep my neck firmer.




2)  Jergens Natural Glow Instant Sun.

I have a very fair skin tone and in the summer I like a light tan and so I have been using this tanning mousse.  This product comes out like a liquid and I usually just rub it on my skin after I get out of the shower.  I bought the light bronze color and it gives me a very light looking tan.  What I really like about this tanning mousse is that it doesn't have a bad smell too it.  I hate when sunless tanners smell really bad when you apply it to your skin.  I always wash my hands good after applying the mousse so that it doesn't leave a stain on my hands.




3)  COVERGIRL Mascara.

I always like to keep an extra tube of mascara in case I run out of my mascara.  I had this mascara a while ago and ran out of it but didn't replace it with a new one.  I decided I would try this one out again.  I like to use this when I am in a rush getting ready in the morning.  This mascara goes on very lightly and it makes your lashes look very natural.



I am currently using a sample size mascara from Estee Lauder that I really like and I'm using every day or for going out in the evenings.  It is called Sumptuous Extreme Lash Multiplying Volume Mascara.  This mascara is so easy to apply and it makes my lashes look really long and I don't even need to use an eyelash curler.  I will definately be buying a new tube of this to use when I am done with this sample size mascara.  I received this sample of mascara and other sample products from Estee Lauder and a bottle of perfume for Mother's Day.  :)


4)  Neutrogena Clear Face Liquid Lotion Sunscreen 30.

I have been mixing a little bit of this sunscreen in with my Keihl's Ultra Facial Cream that I like using every day.  I figure I am protecting my face from the sun and moisturizing my face at the same time.




5)  Trader Joe's Nourish Hyaluronic Moisture Boost Serum.

I have never used any beauty products from Trader Joe's.  I discovered this serum when Heather from the blog Our Life in a Click did a blog post on it HERE.

I figured I would try it out.  I usually use this at bedtime after I take off my makeup.  I then apply this serum and then after it sinks into my skin I use a moisturizer.  I like this serum a lot and my skin is really soft from using it.

Hello friends.  I hope you are all enjoying the week.  I am to but I just can't believe it's already the end of July.  😎  How can the summer be flying by so fast?

Hello friends. Well, I'm glad to back from my blogging break!


I hope you all had a great 4th of July.  I had a really nice day and we packed everything up early and headed to the beach.  It was a little crowded but we enjoyed ourselves since the water was so warm to swim in.  We also enjoyed watching the fireworks.





I recently found an awesome recipe a while back from my blogging buddy Heather, who blogs at Our Life In a Click.  She loves cooking Vegan and healthy foods for her family.

Heather recently made a Tofu Scramble that she shared on her blog.  This dish is great for people that do not like to eat eggs since there are no eggs in this recipe.  For the recipe, you use tofu instead of eggs.

To see the recipe on how to make this tofu scramble you can click HERE.

We all are trying to eat healthier so I decided to try out this recipe since it looked so good.  I made this recipe a few weeks ago and we all loved it and it tasted just like eggs.

I gathered some of the ingredients along with salt, pepper, garlic powder, firm tofu, a can of rinsed and drained chickpeas, and some baby spinach.




I also added a package of vegetables that included broccoli, red and green peppers, and onions that were cleaned and chopped up already.


I let all of that simmer in a large pot with olive oil for a few minutes.



I next added in drained and crumbled up tofu to the veggies.  I let that all cook for a while.



I next added in some tumeric for flavor and coloring.  I did not have all of the ingredients that were in the recipe and left out the aminos and brussel sprouts.

I let this all cook for a while until the veggies were all cooked through.




My daughter and I really loved this dish and she had hers with brown rice and I had mine with whole wheat toast for dinner.

This dish is great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!




Thanks, Heather for the recipe to make this tofu scramble.  It really does taste like eggs and vegetables.

I hope some of your will also be inspired to cook this healthy tofu scramble.


Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the end of the week and weekend.

Don't forget to stop by for our Monday Cooking and Crafting with J & J Link Up!