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So Long Summer – A Weekend at Crab Island

September 15, 2011 By 1 Comment

This weekend was our official “So Long to Summer” since Labor Day weekend everyone on the Gulf Coast was trying not to float away in the wake of Tropical Storm Lee.   Since I was already in Destin for the Grand Opening of Kirkland’s, we decided to make it a little mini vacay and stay with my uncle in his ninth floor condo overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.

We felt sorry for him… poor guy has to make up to THIS horrible view each day:

Destin Florida

I know, awful, right?

After church on Sunday we had lunch and then took the boat out to the most popular spot in the area – Crab Island.  Now, if you have never been to Crab Island… well, it is an experience.  At any given time you will see dozens of boats – from dinghies to yachts – pulled up to a huge sandbar just west of the Destin Harbor.

In the center of Crab Island you will find the “party barge” – where depending on the day you may find a DJ, live band, bikini contest, chicken fights, volleyball tournaments… or all of the above at the same time.  One thing you can count on – it’s ALWAYS a party.  They even have boats that serve food, drinks, and even my favorite – boiled peanuts!

Pets are welcome, as are kids… although you will never see me take MY two there… maybe when they are teenagers.  It’s a bit too wild and crazy for me to think children should go, but there were some playing football and frisbee and other fun games in between all of the boats.  It is a relatively “safe” place for kids to hang out and play… you just may have to shield them from the occasional thong bikini…

The water is just crystal clear, and I wish now that I had broken out the Canon to capture the COLOR of the water in and along the Destin Harbor.  I have always been amazed at just how beautiful it is.  No wonder they call it the “Emerald Coast” – it is just as green as any emerald you have ever seen.  And you can see clear through to the bottom even when it is like 20 feet deep – pretty amazing to see all of the fish, dolphins, and other sealife – just looking over the side of the boat.

We stayed at Crab Island just a few hours - long enough to get a fantastic end-of-summer sunburn and have a few adult beverages – and party with several hundred people saying Good Bye to the Summer of 2011.   It was a blast – many many laughs – and made me look forward to going back again next year.

Who knows, maybe by then I can convince Mike that we TOTALLY could have taken that other team in the Chicken Fight…


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Kirkland’s Grand Openings in Florida and Mississippi

September 1, 2011 By 2 Comments

I am so excited for the Grand Opening of the new Kirkland’s opening in Destin Florida the weekend of September 10th and 11th.  That same weekend two other stores will also be hosting their Grand Openings -Stuart Florida and D’Iberville Mississippi – all featuring amazing sales, specials AND personal one-on-one design consultations with amazing staging professionals at each location!  With almost 300 stores in 30 states, Kirkland’s is a leading specialty retailer of Home Decor items in the United States.

I absolutely love Kirkland’s and have shopped there for years right here in Pensacola, but I was super excited when I heard that the Grand Opening event would have a personal design consultant available to chat with one on one, so we are making the drive to Destin and making a weekend out of it!   Plus the new store is nearly 8,000 square feet…. that is a LOT of goodies!!

There will be FREE design demonstrations and one-on-one decorating consultations with Emerald Coast home stager Kathy Dreadin, who enjoys helping people achieve their dreams. To Kathy, an individual’s personality, gifts, abilities, passions and life experiences make them unique. She has dedicated herself to help others discover the fullest potential in their own lives, as well as in the places they live. Kathy is excited to showcase fun, functional, and most importantly, affordable, decorating ideas to other shoppers in the new store. Guests of the grand opening events are encouraged to bring her their photographs, swatches and their toughest home decorating challenges. She’ll offer advice, inspiration and even be available to help make shopping selections.

What I also love about Kirkland’s is that it is not just a “retail store” with bright florescent lighting and stuff set out on metal shelves.  At Kirkland’s everything is “staged” beautifully, putting together ideas and sets that you can easily imagine in your own home.  The stores have wonderful smells from their extensive candle section and often have soft music playing.   It is really a much nicer experience – and still has reasonable prices!

You can sign up to be on their email list and receive a welcome coupon to use at the Grand Opening, as well as special email-only coupons for future sales and discounts.  I have my eye on this Color Infusion Torchiere Lamp – regularly $99.99, on sale for $79.98!   I have been looking for a lamp to go in the corner of our living room to give a soft glow – and I think this is going to be perfect!!

And I am already getting excited about decorating the house for Fall, so I may have to grab this Pumpkin Harvest Wall Plaque on sale for just $29.98.  It will go perfectly over the fireplace.

If you are in driving distance, you should totally come and check out the new Kirkland’s now at The Shoppes at Paradise Key in Destin or one of the other Grand Opening Locations!  Even if you are not near a “new” store, you can still sign up for their Email Newsletter to receive great coupons and “subscriber only” discounts in any of their stores nationwide.  (and do it now… cause they have some AWESOME Labor Day Specials that started TODAY!)

I am sure I will have a million pictures to show after this event, and would love if you would take some too if you go and share them with me!   Don’t forget to sign up for their email list before you go!