it's cold so i'm dreaming of beaches

fun fact: my hair used to look like this in 2010.  also do not even try to guess what was going on in this picture.  you will be wrong and i will laugh.

i don't think it's gotten above fifty degrees this week.  i'm trying to remain cheerful about this because 1. it is riding boots season (and riding boots are probably the cutest most "outfit-making" shoe choice ever) 2. it is possibly the last year we will spend in such arctic conditions, which yucky freeze aside, does introduce a nostalgia factor 3. scarves (oh how i love cute scarves).  

however, i hate winter.  not like aww i prefer warm weather, but seasons are great; like 80 degrees F 24/7 s'il vous plait.  yep, let's face it, i'm a girl who could dig a natural year-round tan.

we are still trying to finagle where our future home will be... my sister is bragging about wearing flip flops right now... hey wesco, i know you need steve in san diego, right?  right???

ok enough stream of consciousness blogging about the weather.  point being:  i'm currently vacation planning.  the next 10-11 months are mainly going to involve pure insanity about mass-produced food, stationary, and probably cummerbunds, so i'm going to do my best to focus on pure relaxation ala beaches, palm trees, and all-inclusive in-room minibars.  yup, it's time to make plans for our honeymoon!

originally we'd hoped to fly into dublin and have a shamrockin' guiness & castle-filled week of oirish romance.  then i realized that planning a euro-trip WHILE planning an insanely expensive party with upwards of 150 people was not a way to remain calm, happy, zen or even remotely sane (also flights from the D to ireland are currently more expensive than flights from chicago to paris... mathematical logic where are you?).  we realized that traveling to europe is something we are both huge fans of doing, and therefore we don't really need to worry about getting our butts to the irish moors asap; inevitably it will happen on easier terms.

however, neither of us can imagine why we would opt to bask in five star tropical luxury if not on our honeymoon.  that isn't to say five star tropical luxury isn't top notch, it's just not our travel style (we're usually more into museums than hot rock massages).  so in honor of the ultra-sexy-two-person-jacuzzi honeymoon cliche (as well as the whole 'we wine you, dine you, and entertain you with the price of your room' thing) steve and i have opted to go the all-inclusive caribbean resort route for our post-nuptial vacay.  this means two things:

1.  pasta, you and i are about to put some distance into our relationship.  i know, i know, you're inexpensive and delicious, but i'm going to be spending an unusual amount of time in a bikini with my smokin' hot new husband around, so it's probably best if we limited our time together.  same goes for you, cheese.

2.  i, um, actually have to select one of these insanely amazing white sand beaches on which to sunbathe and make-out with steve... i know, hardcore first world problems right?

so far, here are a few destinations we are looking at right now:

jamaica

dominican republic

cancun

st. lucia

what's your pick?

word count: 33.365 (oh hush... writer's block /  wedding planning)