beach — pleasure in simple things

Tag: beach

summer skies at the beach

July

I definitely have a thing for clouds. No doubt about it. I am fascinated by them.

I love it in the summer when I have a little down time and I can truly appreciate the sky – especially in the evening.

Though my daughter much prefers a cloudless sky over the water – the kind of sky that creates a watercolor of pink painted across the horizon – like this one,

I prefer a cloudy sky. The clouds provide an endless variety of unique skies and reflections of colors. The photos I am sharing here are just a few examples – none are altered with filters or in any way – they are just images taken with a phone camera.

During the bright daytime sky, the clouds still provide endless beauty. . .

I hope I have inspired you to look to the sky this holiday weekend and to be mindful of the clouds!

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

1 comment » | sand & sea

playing in the sand

July

I enjoy stopping by any sand castle competition in Connecticut I can find. I am use to seeing dozens of submissions when I visit a competition and I was surprised to see only a few at a recent contest.

When I asked one of the competitors why there were so few entries, the answer was “COVID.”

How the virus would cause a drop in sand castle builders, I do not know…especially for an outdoor activity!

At any rate, these are a few sand creations I did happen upon recently.

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a fabulous weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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life moves pretty fast

July

We are starting a holiday weekend and everyone is super excited because some of our COVID-19 restrictions have relaxed and people feel a little more ‘normal.’

I am grateful to our life with COVID-19 for teaching me to slow down a little bit.

For the weekend, I am reminding you of a few words from a very wise man: Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

With these words in mind, I challenge you this holiday weekend to pick a single thing to find beauty in and really spend some time to examine it.

You may choose something aesthetically pleasing or you may choose a person. Whatever it is you decide to choose, spend some real time taking it in and examining it from every angle…appreciate the beauty in your choice.

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a fabulous holiday weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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beach walk

April

With the virus causing so many places to be shut down here in Fairfield County, I feel lucky that our town beaches have remained open for residents. A walk on the beach can sure make a bad day seem a whole lot better!

My beach walk today is to do a little scavenging for my next craft project. Can you guess what it is?

Did you guess what it was I was collecting? If you guessed shells, you were correct! The type of shell, specifically? Oyster! Although I did find some small ones, I didn’t find any of the really large ones I had hoped for!

Luckily, one of my friends is very close with a family in Connecticut who have been oystermen since the 1940s (fourth generation) and operate one of the last standing traditional oyster farms in the United States. Because of this, I was able to score some really choice, large oyster shells that are perfect for my project!

Maybe you didn’t realize Connecticut was a big oyster state? The Connecticut shoreline actually has more tributary rivers per linear mile of coastline than any other region in the country and this unique geographical characteristic creates the most ideal environment for oysters to thrive.

I haven’t made anything from oyster shells for a while. You may remember the oyster shell place cards I posted a while back? Click here to see.

There is a current craze to decoupage oyster shells in blue and white chinoiserie. Everything I’ve seen has been blue and white. So, I am totally motivated to create some decoupaged oyster shells in some different color palettes. So, since I have had enough of making Christmas ornaments in April, I am moving on to decoupaged oyster shells! Of course, I could easily convert these oyster shell pieces into Christmas ornaments! ;)

Stop back next week to see my creations and get full instructions to make your own!

I hope these photos may have inspired you to take a walk somewhere picturesque near you!

Thanks for stopping by!

Take pleasure in simple things and stay healthy, Jackie

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no labor day 2019

September

How was your holiday weekend? I did work some of the weekend. Here in Connecticut we had a pretty good weather weekend. Yesterday was a bit of a crazy weather day, but I guess that was because of all the stormy weather approaching.

I went down to the water in the afternoon to see if Dorian had impacted anything here. The rain kept coming and going, but the water wasn’t rough.

The beaches were pretty empty because of the weather – even though they were open for the holiday weekend.

I included a few photos as a tribute to summer of 2019!

I hope you had a great weekend! Enjoy the (summer!) week ahead.

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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a may sunset

May

Hi friends! It’s been a busy work week, but I thought I’d share the one sunset I was able to break away for!

Enjoy your weekend!

And, Happy Mother’s Day!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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white sandy beach

February

On a recent work trip, I was shocked to discover a white sandy beach at my hotel. Why? I was in Arizona!

The sandy beach located at the sixth and largest pool at The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess is Arizona’s only white sand beach. A 7,000-square-foot pool and 830 tons of white sand beach allow plenty of room for kicking up your heels (or, in my case, boots – I was in the west after all!) on the shore or enjoying a cocktail at the swim-up bar at Sunset Beach.

The resort hauled in 830 tons of white sand from Florida for the 9,000-square-foot beach surrounding the pool. It’s the same pricey sand that’s used in the bunkers at the resort’s golf course – home to the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

The Fairmont has fabulous drink menus. How about trying a Scottsdale Buck (gin, lemon, prickly pear, and ginger beer) or a Salted Cucumber Gimlet (gin, lime, cucumber and salt)? On weekends, Sunset Beach serves drinks in coconuts…so fun!

I didn’t so much regret not getting the chance to try some of the interesting cocktails served at the Fairmont – I was there on a work assignment after all! But, as a coffee drinker, I very much regretted not getting the chance to try one of the 6 varieties of flaming coffees served at the Fairmont’s restaurant La Hacienda! Has anyone ever tried one?

I guess I have to be content in knowing I drank an herbal iced tea sitting on the white sand at Sunset Beach!

I hope you enjoyed today’s post. I thought it was appropriate for today’s heat wave – it’s in the 30’s instead of single digit temperatures here in Connecticut!

Thanks for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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june book giveaway!

June

June is already here! So, it is time for the June book giveaway!

This month, the giveaway is not exactly a book. Instead, it is a memo pad organizer with some coordinating pencils!

I really love notepads – especially ones that detail a week or a month at a time, and this one is so cute! The longer days of summer leave more time for fun activities. And, this is the perfect pad to best maximize scheduling the expanded daylight hours!

Just leave a comment to be entered to win this giveaway. The winner will be chosen at random at the end of the month from those commenting.

Congratulations to Carolina. She is the winner of the May giveaway, the inspirational read Pretty Happy by Kate Hudson! (Click here to read more about this book.) I know you will enjoy this book, Carolina!

For those who use Instagram, read on for this month’s challenge!

For the month of June, let’s share our beach finds! Use hashtag #pleasuregram to share. I can’t wait to see what you discover on your next beach trip! :)

Thanks for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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crane beach in ipswich

March

I fit in a beach walk on a recent trip to the North Shore of Massachusetts – squeezed in between two major Nor’easters!

On today’s Friday field trip, I welcome you to Crane Beach!

Thanks for stopping by and joining me on a winter beach walk! Have a fabulous weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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balmy and the beach

February

What to do on a 70-degree day in February? Head to the beach, of course! Connecticut does not usually experience temperatures this high in February, so a trip to the beach, no matter how short, seemed in order!