Hi Babes! I am back at it with another quarantine project. I actually bought this journal last year but just never got around to using it until now. Although, I have been a little miserable being stuck at home and not being able to see my boyfriend, I have had plenty of time to catch up on all of my TV shows, binge all of the Netflix I want and work on all of the crafts that I have had planned for over a year. That being said, I absolutely love traveling. I blame my parents because they took me to the beach when I was only six weeks old and ever since, I have had the travel bug. I grew up going to Florida multiple times a year because my mom worked for an airline. Looking back, I always say how great of a childhood that I had. I used to have so many journals and pictures but they got lost over the years so that is when I had the idea to create one of these. I bought mine at Michael’s for less than $10. I plan on using this until it is filled and then I will buy a new one to start. I think it will not only be cool to look back on but also would be fun to show my kids one day. I have even added in personal pages such as big accomplishments that I have had, one being a collaboration with Lumaze, another with Getaway. I bought a bunch of stickers to use and double sided tape for tickets, papers, etc. As for the photos, my boyfriend bought me a HP Sprocket last year for my birthday so I have really been getting the use out of it with this project as you can tell. In the back, it came with a mini folder insert so that is where I put like plane tickets, concert tickets, hockey game tickets and such. I cant wait to see what it will be filled with in the next couple of years! If you end up making one tag me on Instagram!
I am always so OCD when it comes to packing because I always feel like I am going to forget something and I just like to be organized overall. I typically make a list and check it twice. For this trip, I am flying out tomorrow night and not coming home until Sunday afternoon. I made sure to pack extra outfits since the weather will be between 60-70 degrees. I also packed extra pieces because I plan on taking pictures for my blog down there so you can definitely say I overpacked a little lol!
CROSSBODY/PURSE
For my crossbody purse, I typically carry this stuff with me daily so not much changes with my purse. I have my wallet, lipgloss, chapstick, roller perfume, lipstick, lip liner, pills, a pen, lotion, essential oil inhalers, my usb and some gum. Again, these are just my daily essentials.
CARRY ON
This is one of my dupe purchases from Amazon that I shared a few weeks back on Instagram. I absolutely love it and I am super impressed with the overall quality. It is on the smaller side but does open up and carry a lot making it the perfect carry on bag. I will link it here.
Since it is roughly just an hour flight, I am only packing the essentials. I am bringing my mini iPad, my kindle and my lululemon bag has my beats and all of my chargers.
I am checking a bag so because of that I put all of my jewelry that I plan on taking in this mini jewelry case just because I am a psycho and am afraid that it would get stolen if I checked it lol. I am bringing both of these glasses because the outfits I brought are either boho or edgy. The lemon kleenex are from the Target dollar spot and are perfect for on the go. With the coronavirus happening I also packed wet ones and hand sanitizer. Lastly, I am bringing my notebook and travel journal. I like to have my notebook for outlining books that I am currently reading and also to jot down anything that comes to mind. I am a notebook hoarder….Its okay, I’m okay.
I am always afraid of my luggage getting lost so I like to carry the important stuff with me on board. That means all of my skincare and makeup. My makeup isn’t pictured but most of my skincare/toiletries are! These are all my favs!
This past Friday my boyfriend, a few friends, and I went to the Carnegie Science Center for a Stranger Things event that they were hosting. It has been years and years since I have been here so it was nice to check everything out again. Although the event had pretty much nothing to do with Stranger Things we all had fun reminiscing. If you’re looking for something to do in Pittsburgh, I definitely would give the Science Center a visit, especially if you have little ones. As for parking, they have a parking lot right near the entrance which makes it a lot more convenient. I do believe you have to pay to park unless if that was just for the event. Inside, they have plenty of restrooms as well as a little gift shop. Check out their website here.
Happy Monday! I have been a little m.i.a on here the past week or so but I am back and better than ever. I have so much content coming your way so make sure you are following me on instagram to stay up to date @withlovefromjordyn. These Z Supply star print overalls are my absolute favorite at the moment! Not only are they extremely comfortable but they are super cute and great for long travel days! We had a connecting flight heading down to Florida, so I wanted something that would be comfortable wearing for 8+ hours. This outfit worked out perfectly! I will link everything below!
This was my first time visiting Marco Island and I was completely taken away. Every single house on the Island was breathtaking and our rental house was my absolute favorite place thus far. As for the island itself, everything is very clean and the people are extremely nice. The only issue we had was with the beach access. There is not many options when it comes to getting onto the beach and with a mother with multiple sclerosis and a grandmother it was a quite the process. We ended up flying into Charlotte and then from Charlotte to Fort Meyers. On the way home we thankfully had a direct flight. Once we touched down in Fort Myers we rented a car and drove to Marco. It was roughly 45 minutes so not bad at all. We got in around 6:30pm Saturday night. Like I said, the house we rented was absolutely breathtaking. Very clean and just beautiful. Our backyard was on one of the waterway canals so it was great for fishing. By the time we unloaded everything, my boyfriend and I headed to grab food at CJ’s on the Bay. I ordered a shrimp cobb salad and he ordered a salmon blt. Having dinner while watching the sun go down was the perfect start to our vacation. Highly suggest going here.
On Sunday, we woke up around 7:30am and went to grab breakfast at Empire Bagel Factory. I would honestly have to say they had the best breakfast sandwich that I have ever had. It is not a big place at all, just a little bagel shop but they do have some table seating inside. We just got everything to go and came back to the house. I ordered a breakfast sandwich with egg, sausage and cheese on a plain bagel, my mom ordered a flagel with homemade veggie cream cheese, and my boyfriend/grandma ordered the lox deluxe. Everything was very good!
After eating breakfast, we hungout by the pool for the rest of the day and played some card games. In the evening, we fished on the docks in the backyard and ordered takeout from Cocomo’s Grill. I ordered the homemade crab cakes which were pretty good. They were definitely on the larger side, so very filling. It came with two sides so I ordered rice and coleslaw. Both pretty good as well. On top of all of that, I ordered a caesar salad and hush puppies. Everything was pretty standard and tasty.
On Monday morning, we woke up early and headed to Tigertail beach with my dad and uncle to go fishing. One thing about this beach is it is a VERY far walk from the parking lot to the actual beach itself. You may think that the brown water is the only view but you have to walk left towards the condominiums to get to the actual ocean. I did find some nice shells though but it was brutally hot and the fleas were horrible. We also were able to catch some fish and see dolphins. My boyfriend insists that he saw a little shark but we can’t confirm. lol.
After fishing, my boyfriend and I went to Doreen’s Cup of Joe for breakfast. If I could recommend anything, it would be this place. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing, but the breakfast food is by far the best that I have ever had. My boyfriend and I ordered their french toast as well as scrambled eggs and their homemade sausage patties. Both outstanding! We also went here for lunch on Tuesday. I ordered the biscuit sandwich with their homemade sausage. 10/10.After eating here for breakfast, we went back to the house, relaxed, rode bikes, and swam.
One thing with Marco Island this time of year….the sun is HOT. Unlike the Outer Banks where we usually go, there isn’t much of a breeze and it takes the meaning hot to a whole new level. The level where you can’t sit outside in the sun for very long without feeling like death. So because of that a lot of the time we hangout at the house and just swim in the pool. Monday evening, my boyfriend and I ordered takeout from Pinchers. We went to pick it up and it wasn’t ready yet, so we sat at the bar for drinks. Some drinks were buy one get one so he got a beer and I ordered a sangria. Thinking we would only be paying for one drink, he comes back with two of each. Here it had to be the same drink so needless to say, we got screwed. Lol. It was fun regardless though, we ended up meeting an older couple who live here and we all chatted for a while. It was a cool atmosphere inside and the food was pretty good. I love their cocktail sauce, especially on crackers! I ordered their grilled shrimp which was very good with a side of hush puppies and a caesar salad. He ordered the grouper sandwich and said it was amazing. So I suggest that with a side of their rice because it was super tasty! After getting our food, we went to Dolce Mare to get some chocolates and gelato. I ordered the chocolate gelato and it was very tasty! I am a Sarris Chocolate girl (hey Pittsburgh) so I wasn’t impressed very much by their chocolates. Definitely worth the visit though for the gelato. The staff was also very nice as well.
On Tuesday, we woke up and went to Doreen’s Cup of Joe with all of the family. As stated above, I highly suggest going here. Everything is just so dang good! After breakfast, we all got ready and drove down to Sunset Grill to the public beach. Down here, it is really tough to find a beach that is easily accessible. It was really hard on my mom with m.s and my grandma so we only lasted about an hour. The sand was so white though and the water was a pretty shade of light blue, but it honestly felt like bath water which was not very refreshing. My aunt went to Naples on Wednesday and said the beaches were much much better. So I suggest doing that. After the beach, we all just hung out and relaxed because we were exhausted from the heat. For dinner, we went back to Pinchers for takeout and I ordered a crab cake. It wasn’t horrible but it also wasn’t the greatest.
On Wednesday, my mom, grandma, aunt, and I woke up and went to go to the farmers market which ended up being a bust because it was their off season so we ended up doing some shopping and then headed back to Empire Bagel Factory. Between there and Doreen’s Cup of Joe, I would be broke if I lived here! Lol. They both are so good! There was a really cute boutique next door called OMG That’s Chic. The owner was extremely nice and it was such a neat little shop.
When we got back to the house, I went fishing with my dad, uncle, and boyfriend. We went under the main bridge in which I got absolutely fried. Although I was under a little umbrella, my legs and feet resembled a tomato within just two hours of being outside. So another tip, always wear sunscreen! It was really cool though because we were able to see a lot of dolphins and manatees, up close.
After fishing, we went back to the house and swam in the pool. As you could imagine, I was somewhat miserable because of my sunburn but we played a couple of rounds of Uno and then relaxed. After Uno Tom and I ran to a few places, one being the local surf shop. I was able to finally buy myself a cute beach bag. Surf shops always have the cutest things, I swear! Unfortunately, It ended up really storming in the evening so for dinner we just ordered takeout from Joey’s Pizza. I ordered a turkey and provolone cold sub with banana peppers and a side caesar salad. Everyone else ordered more fancy things but because of having a bad stomach, I stuck with a safe meal. On Thursday, the boys woke up early to go fishing so I went outside and relaxed while watching the sunrise and worked on some blog stuff. It has been so nice not having to work down here and actually be able to step back and relax. I ended up taking my grandma out for some shopping to Kay’s Boutique and Bealls Outlet. I have never been to one before and it reminded me a lot like TJ Maxx.
After shopping, my boyfriend and I went to Sunset Grille for lunch and some drinks. We were able to get a table outside on the beach so we ended up staying for a decent amount of time. Since it was right next to the public beach, my aunt went to the beach while we ate. We ended up all going back for dinner and had a really nice time even though it stormed really bad. Before the storms hit, we were able to watch the sun go down which was the perfect backdrop for dinner.
Today (Friday), is our flight home. My boyfriend and I woke up and headed back to Doreen’s Cup of Joe one last time which of course was amazing. This time I ordered their fruit belgium waffles with blueberries and strawberries with a side of two scrambled eggs.
After breakfast we just hung out and packed everything back up and headed to the airport around 3:00pm for our flight at 5:55pm which has now been delayed. Not to mad though because I am able to get this post up faster then I thought! Right after getting to the airport and turning our rental car in, we got a tornado warning and a killer storm. So our plane is now delayed until 8:00pm so fingers crossed that still happens! Regardless this trip was one for the books.
If you are in the Pittsburgh area, The Johnston House is a must. It is the perfect place for a girls day out, bridal shower, baby shower, or even just some afternoon tea. Just an FYI, you do have to make reservations so if you’re planning to go, plan ahead. I went with my Mom, Grandma, and Aunt and we all had such a great time. When you walk in, you walk through a tiny tea shop. A worker will greet you and take you to your table. You will then be waited on and order your drinks. I always just get the hot tea but they also have iced tea, water, coffee, etc. After you receive your drinks you then get your little snacks delivered to your table. After that, you’re good to go. We usually just sit and talk and when finished we visit the tiny store. For our snacks, we had cucumber sandwiches, quiche, chicken salad croissants, and some small desserts. Everything was SO delicious and whatever you do not finish they give you a box to take it home. As for pricing, I believe it was around $30 a person which is totally worth it in my eyes. I highly recommend The Johnston House, you won’t regret it!
