April 2015 – The Adventures of a Calamari Queen

What We Wore: Cruise Edition!

Hello Everyone! I hope you’re having a great Wednesday. I’m going to link up with The Pleated Poppy – “What I wore” because personally it’s fun for me and great to get some ideas / inspiration from other women’s fashion style. During our Cruise vacation we decided to just bring carry on bags (one for each of us) because the check in fee was $25 each so for roundtrip it will cost us $100 if we were both going to check luggage (nobody has time for that $100!). We are going to the Caribbean so we thought we’ll mostly bring casual clothes like shorts, bathing suits, light shirts. I packed minimally (I thought!) but we still had clothes that we didn’t wear. Anyways, I didn’t buy anything new for this trip but I did shop for my husband because he needed new rash guard shirts and some shorts.

We took a red flight so I wanted to be comfy; leggings and sweater: Target, Talbots top, Brooks running shoes — We took a red eye flight so I wanted to be comfy; leggings and sweater: Target, Talbots top, Brooks running shoes

Dress:Ross (I think, really old), Tory Burch Reva Flats and clutch

My Hubs! Pants and Shirt:Nordstrom; Cole Haan Shoes

Sea Day! so I wanted casual attire. Top:Maurices, Pants: Lilly Pulitzer, Tory Burch flipflops — Sea Day! So I wanted casual attire. Top:Maurices, Pants: Lilly Pulitzer, Tory Burch flipflops

Top:Target, JCrew shorts,Tory burch flipflops

Old navy tshirt, Speedo shorts (I got from Nordstrom), Clarks flipflops

Maxi dress from Ross, Wedge: J Crew, Tory Burch clutch

Hubs: Old Navy shirt, Speedo shorts; On me: Forever21 romper, Tory Burch Flipflops, Target hat, Rebecca Minkoff mini mac bag

Everything from Target! I love me some target:)

Nike shirt, Target shorts (I think, his shorts was really old so I can't remember) — Nike shirt, Target shorts (I think, his shorts were really old so I can’t remember)

Target dress (another old one) — Target dress/coverup (another old one)

Dress: Gap, Rebecca Minkoff bag, Target flats

My sister gifted me this dress and it this was super comfy!

Old Navy shirt, SPeedo shorts (another sea day)

Nassau, Bahamas

The last Island that we visited was Nassau, Bahamas! It was our least favorite just because it was too crowded and the weather was too hot for us (like the sun eating your skin). We checked out Paradise Point, some parts of the Atlantis Resort (that’s opened to the public) and spent the rest of our time at Cabbage Beach (which was gorgeous but too wavey for me!).

little selfie while waiting to get out of the cruise ship

was excited to see starbucks bahamas so I can buy their "you are here collection" but they don't have it — was excited to see starbucks bahamas so I can buy their “you are here collection” but they didn’t have it

we had drinks and croch fritters before going back to the ship — we had drinks and conch fritters before going back to the ship

St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands!

Our 2nd Island to visit was St. Thomas, US Virgin Island! This was another beautiful Island, I only wanted to do 2 things here and that was to see Magens Beach Bay (I heard that it’s voted one of the best beaches in the world; National Geographic Magazine!), second thing to do was visit Paradise Point to get a good of view the Island. After getting off from the cruise ship, we got a taxi right away going to Magens Beach because it can be so crowded and I wanted to take pictures when it’s less busy. When we got there, it didn’t disappoint! My goodness the water was so calm surrounded by a lagoon, crystal clear blue water! If you get to visit St. Thomas and have limited time, you gotta see Magens Beach, it’s one of the best beaches in the Caribbean in my opinion! *I’ve read somewhere that Bella and Edward (Twilight series) shot some scenes here in their honeymoon part of the movie. I can’t confirm that though because I don’t think I’ve seen all the movie/series.*

I took this pic inside the taxi, I can't get over how pretty the color is! — I took this pic inside the taxi, I can’t get over how pretty the color is!

Our next stop was Paradise Point (it was just walking distance from our cruise). They have an entrance fee of $21,kinda pricey but the gondola ride was nice and quick (the view was worth it).

Zach took this pic, inside the gondola (going up)

St. Maarten, Philipsburg

Our first port on our Caribbean cruise is the Island of St. Maarten, Philipsburg (Dutch side). We’re really excited to be out of the ship after 2 and half days being on the sea. I really liked St. Maarten because it was clean and really tourist friendly. We visited Maho beach. We spent a good amount of time there (it’s also called the “airport” beach) because it’s so close to the airport (Princess Juliana International Airport). It is a must if you visit St. Maarten, I mean how often do you experience having a huge plane just above your head?! We got to see the big commercial plane KML ( looks like everybody was waiting for it too). It was so much fun for me, but the Hubs wasn’t as excited to see this whole thing. He’d rather drink at the bar and lounge! The beach was so nice too, clear and powdery white sand (my kind of beach!).

On our way to Maho Beach (we took the taxi, paid $9 each)

Photo from online (but this is the same plane we saw) that made me super excited!

enjoying some fruity drink at Sunset Bar and Grill

the famous Guavaberry (it was OK for us)

Ocean Blue By Geoffrey Zakarian

We had our Anniversary dinner at the Ocean Blue (Norwegian Getaway cruise) and it was one of the best times on our cruise vacation. The food was superb and the service was amazing ( always anticipating your needs yet not in your face kind of attitude). Although it was a bit pricey because this place is not part of any “free dining” that the cruise offers. The Hubs went all out with the appetizers! He really likes his apps:) They offer seafoods and have selections of raw items like oysters and hamachi. If you find yourself on a cruise and they have an Ocean Blue restaurant, you must try it at least because you will not regret it! The Hubs and I had a great experience in this restaurant.

2015-04-19_DSC_2704 — mascarpone bread and cheeses

yellow tail hamachi — yellow tail (hamachi)

beet salad with caviar (the food presentation is just lovely)

steak tartare (this was Ok for me, had better steak tartare here in Seattle)

Lobster Mushroom Risotto (rich and decadent!) love the flavors!

I had the snapper with some fancy side dish that I'm not familiar with!hehehe — I had the snapper with some fancy ingredients that I’m not familiar with! hehehe

complimentary cake! that we end up not eating because we’re too full. we had some in our cabin the next day though

Caribbean Cruise!

Hello everyone! I’ve been MIA for the last couple of weeks because the Hubs and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary with an Eastern Caribbean cruise (Norwegian Getaway). It’s our first time cruising and we had so much fun! It was such a relaxing time with my Hubs. We visited St. Maartens Philipsburg (Netherlands,dutch side), St. Thomas US Virgin Islands, and Nassau Bahamas. We really liked our cruise ship because there’s always something going on, lots of options/activities so we were never bored and the food was great too. I will be posting more of our amazing dinner experiences in the coming days. Enjoy the pics!

enjoying the view from our balcony room — enjoying the view(Miami port) from our balcony room

Pretty Chandelier from the ships main lobby

animal towel prepared by the housekeeper

Fruit and Veggie carving demonstration (this is so pretty, watermelon flower) — Fruit and Veggie carving demonstration (this is such a pretty watermelon flower)

The cast of Legally Blonde (we did watch it but preffered the real "broadway show) — The cast of Legally Blonde (we did watch it but preferred the real “broadway show)

2015-04-19_DSC_2792 — watched Fireworks on the 4th night!

My hat has a life of its own..lasted for 6 days and I have to throw it out because it was pretty useless. — My hat has a life of its own..lasted for 6 days and I had to throw it out because it was pretty useless.

last selfie before going back to Seattle

Happy Easter!

Today we are celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ! One of the most important events in the Christian world. I’m just so grateful for what Jesus did on the Cross, the unconditional love He gave to all of us. The perfect, sinless Son of God suffered and died for all of us, despite our unworthiness. Thank You Jesus for what you’ve done for our sake.

Aside from Easter Sunday celebration, we are also celebrating our 7th wedding Anniversary! We are thankful to God for blessing our marriage for the last 7 years. We cannot wait to see what is in store for us in the coming years! The Best is yet to come:) We took a couple of pictures before going to church this morning. We had brunch after with my In laws in one of the restaurants here in Issaquah. The Hubs and I plan to have a little getaway somewhere to celebrate and we are so excited! I hope you had a great Easter weekend all:)

someone was forced to have a solo picture!hehe