In 2010 I ... escaped to Mexico.

The 10th anniversary of a Mexican family tradition concluded this past Saturday. Well, we're not Mexican. The trip is Mexican. To Mexico. You know. Whatever.

Anyway, it was paradise as usual. Every day looked like the sunny, beachy amazingness we've come to expect from Cancun/Playa del Carmen. Everyone always asks what the fam does during this 7-day retreat, and like the recent cabin trip, it's often a whole lot of nothing. This year was no exception.

There's a lot of brunching. Daily brunching, in fact. There's also quite a considerable amount of tanning/lounging/beaching/pool time. And because that schedule is exhausting, there's a happy hour break before dinner. With all this activity, we did manage to squeeze in a few adventures however.

Like this delicious snack in Playa del Carmen. This trip is really all about doing nothing and eating, and my PdC highlight being a snack is totally fitting.

I also had a ton of Mexican chair envy with gorgeous red and white laser-cut chairs that were jaw-droppingly perfect. Conveniently, they'd all fit into the motif of my kitchen, and my patio ... let's be honest, I'd put them anywhere in my teeny, tiny condo. I'll be stalking these down, weeping when they don't fit in my "budget" and then lying to my dad about contributing to my IRA when I'm really stashing away funds for these babies. Wouldn't you?




Maybe they're an Umbra designer line? Moving on. We also made our second journey to Xcaret, or what I refer to as the Disney World of Mexico. The fam did not approve of this title, however, so we finally settled on a Busch Gardens comparison. It is an amazing place:

We took a quick boat ride down this quaint beauty.

If I could stop killing orchids, maybe this could live on my patio?

Mexico really has no boundaries or safe guards of any kind, as this butterfly was on my mom's arm moments after I snapped this.

View from lunch.

Stunning, right? It's a massive place where you could easily get lost for days. We finished off the day with one of my favorite bits of the entire trip - an hour+ spent floating and tanning in inner tubes. Glorious.

After Xcaret there was more eating, tanning and a bit of shopping (although as far as the fam's trips typically go, shopping was at a concerning, all-time low). We ended the trip at the most stunning restaurant I've ever seen, JC Capitan:




Obviously this trip is a complex formula of: eat, tan, eat, relax, and repeat. After years of practice it seems we finally nailed it.

In 2010 I ... took a Winter Weekend up North

Four girls and a sunny Saturday made for a perfect wintery escape while we could all still fit in one car.

Anne, Jenny, Stacia and I ran off to Stacia's cabin for a quick getaway before Jenny (in April) and Stacia (in June) welcome new additions to their families. For me, it was a pre-vacation before my Mexican hiatus - like practice for the big game - and a needed break after the car accident craziness. (Although the girls did have to listen to me debate buying the Mini all weekend. Sorry again, friends.)

We did what we usually do at the cabin - almost nothing. As little as possible, really. Eating, reading, game playing, and all-around general laziness. It was lovely. I brought 500 Days of Summer (I know, I'm super behind on movies) and just adored it. Gushed about it, honestly, and bought the soundtrack before we even left.

Jen, Stac and Anne busy at work in the kitchen, of course.

That's it. That's all that happened. On a related note:

Dear J and S,
Hurry up and birth these babies so we can get back to doing nothing, please.

Thanks very much for your consideration on this important matter.

Yours truly,
Emily

In 2010 I ... totaled a car, and bought a car.

What a nightmare.

Vitals: No one was hurt. Not my fault. Car was totaled. It was a total pain for about 48 hours.
And then ...


Ta da! A new Mini! Which, oddly enough, made this seemingly nightmarish crash kind of dreamy. This new little wonder is super fun to drive, lowered my insurance payments and the color has managed to brighten the last few weeks worth of gray winter mornings on the drive in to work.

Final ruling: a happy accident.